Rescue Me
by MarcyGoomen
Summary: Modern Day Voyager AU: Chakotay takes his nephew to an animal shelter where he meets a friend (and I'm not talking about a dog) :D
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This story idea came to be during one (of many) random text conversations with ArgyleTrekkie. But because I'm an extreme procrastinator, I barely sat down to write it out. Not quite sure where this is going (I have several ideas) OR how long it will be OR if the rating will change, but I promise you, it will get finished. This is my first fanfic in almost two years so please be gentle with my poor soul. Also, I've set this in modern-day Los Angeles because 1) I'm completely obsessed with the recent modern day AUs that have been published and 2) I live in the area so it's easier to write about. One more thing, this has not been betaed, so I apologize in advance for mistakes. And pardon the cheesy AF title.

* * *

"Absolutely not!"

"Please!"

"No!"

"But mom!"

"Don't you "But mom!" me!"

Chakotay entered the kitchen and discovered why no one had opened the door for him. He was glad he had decided to use his spare key to get into the house after waiting countless minutes on the porch. He knew someone was home since the car was parked in the driveway which led to a moment of panic when he realized something awful may have happened to them. But now that he was inside he understood what was preoccupying both.

Chakotay sat down at the dining room table without either Sekaya or Edgar really noticing. Well, they probably noticed but they didn't acknowledge his presence. He wasn't sure what the argument was about but he couldn't help being impressed with his nephew's determination on whatever it was they were going back and forth about. After observing them for a bit longer and coming to the conclusion there didn't seem to be an end in sight, Chakotay pulled out his iPhone to go through work emails.

"I'll do everything, mom. I pro-"

"Chakotay, can you try this sauce. I think it needs... something." Sekaya continued to stir the contents of the large pot with one hand while checking the cabinet by the stove for other seasonings with the other. "It's not salt, I know that's not it," she said, more to herself than to anyone else.

"Mom! Don't ignore me!

"Sweetie, I'm not ignoring you. I just can't have this conversation again right now, okay? Please understand. Go do your homework and we'll talk about it later at some other time."

A loud sigh filled the room followed by a rather depressing "fine."

Once the boy left, Sekaya continued to peruse through her spice cabinet. She lifted a small container and squinted, trying to read the label. "Cinnamon!? Gosh no, not cinnamon." She placed the offending spice back in its place. "Chakotay! Are you going to try this or not?!"

Chakotay glanced up from his phone. "What?"

"The sauce. I asked if you could taste the sauce." Sekaya gestured with the dirty wooden spoon, red droplets landing on the white tiles of the kitchen floor with every motion. "And wipe that stupid look off of your face. I hope you don't greet people at the museum that way."

"No, I reserve that look for family only. Helps me blend in."

"Ha-ha." She stretched her arm out with spoon in hand toward Chakotay's direction. "Taste. Please," she added with a smile.

Chakotay rolled his eyes and set his phone down. "Hello, by the way." Sekaya ignored his sarcastic remark as he walked over to her and she handed him the utensil. "What are you making?"

"Enchilada sauce."

Chakotay turned and faced his sister, slightly confused. "You've made enchilada sauce a million times before. What's so different about this one?"

"I don't know," she said as she opened the refrigerator door and examined its contents. "I just wanted to add some pizzazz to this one, I guess." She pulled a wine bottle from the shelf. "Add something new to the restaurant menu. Change it up a bit, you know?"

"Ah! You've been watching _The Barefoot Contessa_ again, I see."

"Maybe." She winked. "Want some?" She asked as she poured herself a glass of wine.

"Nah, I'm good. I'll stick to water."

"Oh...still on the girlfriend imposed diet?"

"It's not girlfriend imposed. I could lose a few pounds."

"Ya and you could also lose that girlfriend of yours."

"Sekaya, not now."

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry. I'll drop it. I...I just don't get it."

Chakotay stirred the sauce. "Ya, well," he mumbled as he tried the sauce, "not your life."

"I know. I just want you to be happy. That's all."

"Sugar."

Sekaya set down her wine glass. "Excuse me?"

"Have you tried sugar?"

"Well, no." Sekaya walked over to her brother. "Should I?"

"I think it would be interesting."

"Is this a hunch or do you have previous experience in this area because you aren't one to go wild with your cooking."

Chakotay walked across the kitchen to the cabinet where Sekaya kept her sugar container. "Previous experience."

"Oh?"

Chakotay knew Sekaya wasn't going to let him get away without telling her about his discovery. He brought the glass container over to the stove and placed it by the pot. "Remember a couple years ago when I kept telling everyone I didn't need reading glasses?"

"Oh, yes! Vividly!" A pleased expression spread across Sekaya's face. "I'm not sure which incident I enjoy more: the time you accidentally told off your boss via text thinking it was me or when you accidentally donated $1200 instead of $100 to the animal shelter."

"Hey! Sekaya and Sergio look very similar on an iPhone. That could happen to anyone."

"Sure..." Sekaya laughed. "Only to you," she murmured into her wine glass, taking another sip.

" _And_ I had every intention of donating that amount to the shelter. They needed it."

"Uh-huh."

Chakotay's shoulders sagged knowing he wasn't fooling anyone. "I didn't realize I clicked on the monthly donation for a year instead of the one-time button." Chakotay sighed. "It could happen to anyone."

"Oh, yes, of course. Anyone...that needs glasses!"

"So, do you want the rest of the story?"

"Yes. Please, continue."

"Well, one weekend I decided to replicate mom's enchilada sauce from memory. I always wanted to try making it but never found the time." Chakotay slowly added some sugar to the sauce and continued to stir. "It was during the time Seska and I were on a break and-"

"Ohhhh."

"Ya."

"So was that the first, the second, or the eighth time you guys were on a break?"

"Sekaya..."

"Sorry. I won't interrupt anymore."

"Anyway, as I was stirring the sauce I felt it needed a bit more salt, but instead of grabbing the salt I grabbed the sugar. And to make matters worse, the container slightly slipped out of my hand and I ended up dropping the entire thing inside the pot."

A muffled snort filled the room. Chakotay glanced over at his sister who was making every effort to hold back her laughter. One hand covered her mouth while the other barely held onto the wine glass.

"Just let it out or you're going to explode."

Sekaya tried to control the giggles. She took a deep breath as she placed her hand on her chest. "I'm good. I'm good." Another giggle escaped and after a minute or so managed to gain control again. "I mean, how did you confuse the containers?"

Chakotay sighed. "Seska went through this Pinterest phase whe-"

" _Seska_? _Pinterest_? Wow, that woman is like two completely different people."

"Tell me about it." Chakotay moved to the side and handed Sekaya the spoon. "Here, try this."

Sekaya somewhat reluctantly grabbed the spoon while eyeing Chakotay. "If I die, tell Edgar I love him."

"Just taste it for goodness sake!"

Sekaya sniffed the sauce before taking a small sip. Her face immediately lit up. "Oh wow! This is actually really good." She took an even bigger spoonful. "Mmmmm, it has a nice sweet-spicy kick. This is going to pair so well with the queso fresco."

"I'm glad my misfortune has helped you out."

Sekaya planted a kiss on Chakotay's cheek. "Thank you, big brother. I would be lost without you." She stirred the sauce a bit more, covered it and set it aside. "So what brings you here on a Tuesday night? I wasn't expecting you until the weekend."

Chakotay moved away from the stove. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his back against the kitchen sink. "Just didn't feel like going home tonight."

"Trouble in paradise?" Sekaya emphasized paradise with air quotes.

"No. Everything is fine. She was just going to have a couple of friends over for dinner. I really didn't feel like being there."

"You mean the same friends that were at her birthday dinner a few months ago?"

"Yup."

"Then I don't blame you." Sekaya served herself some more wine. "You know? I don't think I've ever met anyone that was that loud, ignorant, and unfunny as those three ladies."

Chakotay didn't feel comfortable discussing this. Any time Seska became the focus of Sekaya's conversation, it usually ended in some sort of disagreement between the two. One time it had led to a full on argument where both of them didn't speak for over a month. He just really wanted to avoid any drama today and needed a change of topic.

"So, what was that about earlier?"

"What was what about?"

"You and Edgar and the beginning of World War III."

"Oh, that. He wants a pet. Well, not any pet. He wants a dog. And he wants it as his birthday present."

"Not demanding at all."

"No, definitely not," Sekaya laughed.

"I tried to explain to him that a dog, well any pet, is a lot of responsibility. Requires a lot of time and they need constant attention. Both things we really don't have a lot of." Sekaya walked over to the fridge and peered into it. "You hungry?"

"Somewhat. I was just going to grab something to eat on my way home."

"Stay. Eat with us. I don't feel like cooking, though. Pizza? Or is pizza not part of the diet?"

Chakotay rolled his eyes. "Pizza is fine."

"So ya, I tried to compromise with Edgar." Sekaya opened a drawer full of takeout menus and other knick-knacks. "Told him we could maybe think about getting a hamster, or a fish, you know something small."

"Oh Seky, you don't want to get a hamster. Remember Rosie?"

Sekaya cringed as she finally found the menu she was searching for. "Oh man, how did I forget about Rosie."

"Maybe because you weren't the one that found her body under the bed two months after she disappeared."

Sekaya snapped her fingers. "I know! Tell Edgar that story during dinner. That might make him change his mind."

Chakotay just stared at his sister. "I'm not...no. That's perverse. No."

"Ya, I guess you're right. Eh, I'll figure something out. So is a veggie pizza okay?"

"Sounds great. Can you also get a Caesar salad? I've been craving one of those for days. You know what," Chakotay took the menu from Sekaya's hand, "I'll order. It'll be my treat."

"I won't argue with that," Sekaya smiled.

Once the pizza was delivered, they sat at the table to eat where the conversation was mostly Edgar talking about how wonderful pets can be and Sekaya, without much luck, trying to change the subject. Chakotay finally managed to get Edgar off the pet topic when he asked him about the upcoming science fair at school. By the time they had finished dinner and Edgar had provided all the details of his science project, Chakotay had decided it was probably safe to return home.

"I should better get going. It's kinda late and I don't want to keep you up."

"Nonsense. I'm not going to sleep early. It's a Netflix and chill for one kind of night."

Chakotay pretended to be grossed out by his sister's innocent comment. "Too much information there, sis!"

"No! I didn't mean it that way! Get your head out of the gutter."

"Of course you didn't." Chakotay yelled back as he made his way to his car parked on the street.

"Text me when you get home." Sekaya yelled from the porch.

"Will do."

The drive home was fairly uneventful. Chakotay always liked driving home later at night since it meant less time stuck in traffic. The drive from Sekaya's home in Silver Lake to his in South Pasadena could be brutal during rush hour traffic.

Chakotay let his thoughts wander as he drove but they kept roaming back to Edgar and his desire for a pet. He understood why Sekaya didn't want the added responsibility. She already had enough on her plate as a single mom and owner of a restaurant. He was incredibly proud of her and knew he didn't tell her enough.

By the time Chakotay exited the freeway and made his way to his home on surface streets, he felt he had come up with the perfect solution to Edgar's request. When he finally pulled up to his driveway he called Sekaya before getting out of his car.

"I said text me not call me."

"Am I interfering with your alone time?" Chakotay laughed.

"Shush. You okay?"

"Ya. I'm fine. As I was driving something came to mind. What if I got Edgar a cat?"

"Chakotay! No! I can't take care of-"

"Wait. Here me out. The cat would belong to Edgar but would live with me. I'll buy the food, the litter, and pay any of the vet bills. Edgar could come over and visit any time he wants and maybe some weekend it can spend it with you two. I dunno, we can figure out the details later. That would be my birthday present to him. On top of Disneyland because I already told him I would take him and I can't back out now."

"Oh, Chakotay. You would do that?"

"Anything for my nephew. And sister."

"But you're forgetting one minor, or major, detail."

"What?"

"Demon woman."

"Don't call her that. And she actually likes cats and dogs or any other animal really."

"She probably likes them because she uses them to brew her potions."

"Okay, hanging up now."

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I just can't help myself. Sorry."

"It's fine. So is this idea fine with you?"

"Seems great but let me just sleep on it."

"All right. Let me know what you decide. Have a goodnight. Tell Netflix I won't interfere anymore."

Sekaya laughed. "Oh I will. Love you."

"Love you, too."

Chakotay ended the call, gathered his work materials from the passenger seat and made his way inside.

[TBC]


	2. Chapter 2

One more mile and Kathryn would be home. The drive from campus felt eternal, mainly because it seemed like she had gotten stuck behind every slow driver on the planet. And apparently the city of Pasadena had chosen today to have constructions zones on every street. Kathryn knew she was being hyperbolic but she was just so terribly exhausted.

Thursdays were always her long day with two lectures, office hours, and of course the need to squeeze in some research before, in between, and after class. She always berated herself for setting up her schedule that way but deep down she secretly loved it.

Kathryn also figured she would have fared much better throughout the day if her lovely and always reliable companion, her Keurig coffee maker, hadn't decided to go on strike. It currently sat in the back seat of her car where she planned to take it apart this weekend and try to fix whatever was wrong with it. She knew it would be a futile effort but she had to try anyway.

She finally made it to her neighborhood. It was quiet. It was always quiet. That's one of the things she loved about this area, that and all the tall, full trees that lined every street. One more right turn and she would be home.

As soon as she had turned onto her street she noticed the moving truck in the distance. Her throat constricted while her heart slowly dropped into her stomach.

 _He was supposed to be gone by now._

She contemplated driving around a bit longer or making a run to Starbucks- or a bar- to give him some extra time to leave. That's when she noticed she had unintentionally come to a complete stop in the middle of the road. Kathryn glimpsed at her rear view mirror and over each shoulder as if she had been chased by something. Thankfully there weren't any other cars coming toward her and none of the neighbors were out to witness whatever it was she was doing.

 _Geez, Kathryn, stop being stupid! You're an adult. You can deal with this._

She rolled her eyes at herself and slowly pulled into the long driveway of the bungalow style house. For a split second she almost lost all courage, put her car in reverse and left. She internally reprimanded herself again.

What normally would have taken her mere seconds to accomplish was now taking an eternity. She slowly put her car in park; her hands clutched the steering wheel while she stared at nothing in particular. After a good minute, her hand eventually found its way to the ignition where she turned off the engine. She reached out toward the backseat to grab her purse and book bag when she spotted the sad looking Keurig.

"I thought that was going to be the worst thing to happen today," she sighed. She kept staring at the coffee maker trying to figure out if it was some sort of metaphor for her life. She shook her head, "my god Kathryn, you're acting like a child! Just get it over with already!" With that she swung open the car door, pulled out her belongings, and slammed the door shut with just a bit too much force. It felt oddly satisfying though.

She reached the front door to find the door ajar. "Typical," she mumbled, as she pushed the door open and set her things on the hallway table. It was oddly quiet in the house for someone that was supposed to be moving. She peeked into the living and found no one.

"Mark?" she yelled, but was merely greeted by silence. She made her way to the kitchen; the only noise filling the house was the creaking of the floor boards as Kathryn walked. She was about to call out for him once again when she noticed the door, that led to the backyard and garage, fully open.

Kathryn hesitated slightly before she stepped outside onto the wooden deck they had installed when they bought the house. There was Mark, pulling out cardboard boxes from the garage and setting them on the grass. Her movement must have caught his attention because he glanced in her direction.

"Kath, hey. I mea-

"You left the front door open."

He dropped his head and simply stood there like a child that had just been scolded. "I'm sorry," he said, lifting his head and avoiding eye contact with her. "I was about to leave when I remembered this stuff," he pointed at the boxes. "I wanted to be gone by the time you got home."

"That's okay."

"What time is it? I left my phone in the truck," he added.

Kathryn lifted her wrist to get a view of her watch. A watch that had been an anniversary present. "Just a little after six." She was one of the few people that still wore a watch. Some of her students occasionally teased her about it. She told them she was old school.

Not knowing what else to do, Mark shoved his hands in his pockets. "How was work?"

"Busy. But uneventful."

The awkward conversation was killing Kathryn. She couldn't believe they had gotten to that point in their relationship where they couldn't muster more than five words together. She was certain the birds chirping away in the tree were having a better time than she was.

"My Keurig broke," she added.

"You're kidding?!"

"Wish I was."

"Didn't you just get that?"

"It's almost a year old. Mom sent it to me for my birthday."

Mark looked a bit sheepish. "Oh, that's right. I forgot."

Kathryn awkwardly smiled since she didn't know what else to do. They both hadn't moved positions from the moment she had walked out of the house. "Need help?" she offered.

"Nah, I got it. I have a dolly in the truck that I have to go get. I'm going to open the side gate and take them down the driveway. It's easier that way."

"Okay, well, I'm going to go inside. Let me know if you need anything."

He smiled and pretended to salute. "You got it, Captain."

Kathryn forced another smile and made her way back inside. She closed the door and leaned her back against it, her smile slowly fading away. Captain had been his endearing nickname for her when they started dating about a decade ago. When they had gotten married four years earlier, he had mentioned it in his vows. "You'll always be my Captain," he had told her. Tears flooded her eyes which she tried, with much effort, to fight back. And now, now they were close to finalizing their divorce.

Kathryn sighed and walked over to her coffee maker. Coffee would make her feel better. Coffee _always_ made her feel better. She was about to pull out the carafe out of the machine when she thought to hell with it. She walked over to the fridge and pulled out the vodka bottle she kept in the freezer.

She was in the middle of a taking a sip when she heard a light tap on the front door. She left the drink behind and went to answer the door. To no surprise it was Mark.

"I'm going to take off. I didn't want to leave without saying good-bye."

Kathryn just nodded. She really didn't know what else to do.

"Oh, here," he put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. "I wanted to give these back." He handed them to Kathryn.

Kathryn stared at the keys in the palm of her hand and mumbled, "thanks."

"Okay, well, I'm going to get going." He took an awkward step toward Kathryn but momentarily hesitated before he pulled her into a hug.

Kathryn was caught off guard but eventually wrapped her arms around his body. This was the most physical contact they've had in months. The hug was warm and inviting, but not quite the same as the hugs from before. Kathryn cursed the tears that were now streaming down her face.

"Don't be a stranger, okay?" he whispered in her ear as he gently let her go.

Kathryn nodded, wiping the tears from her face. She watched him walk down the front steps, make his way to the truck and drive away.

She stood on the porch facing the direction the truck disappeared into for who knows how long. The sudden flicker and brightness of the porch light snapped Kathryn out of her haze. She had barely noticed it was practically dark out. Kathryn let out a long breath, turned around and walked back inside.

=/\=

The light started to fade in Chakotay's living room which made reading the latest issue of _Anthropology Now_ quite difficult. He moved the magazine a bit higher trying to catch the last rays of light that were still streaming in from the windows. He eventually tried moving the magazine closer to his face but that wasn't really making a difference either. He set the magazine down on his chest and slid his reading glasses to the top of his head. From where he lay on the couch he could see the light switch to the lamp right above his head. It was so close yet so far.

From the moment Chakotay had gotten home he had removed his pants, button-down shirt, and socks and thrown them on the living room floor. He'd wandered to the kitchen in just his undershirt and boxers and pulled a beer from the fridge. He took a couple gulps while going through the pile of mail that had gathered on the kitchen counter throughout the week. He was delighted to find the magazine mixed in with the stack of bills and junk mail. He'd immediately grabbed the magazine and plopped himself on the couch. He hadn't moved since and that was almost two hours ago.

Chakotay could barely make out the outline of the lamp in the complete darkness. "Lumos!" he demanded, as he flicked his hands toward the lamp. The sudden ringing that filled the room startled Chakotay. It took him a second to realize it was his phone ringing. He scanned the blackness of the room and noticed a faint light coming from the floor. That's where he assumed his pants had landed.

Chakotay very ungracefully rolled off the couch and headed toward the light. His knees cracked in the process, adding a quite distinct noise to the rather annoying ringing. He picked up his pants and pulled his phone out of one of the pockets. He smiled at the caller ID.

"You almost gave me a heart attack."

Sekaya laughed. "I've heard that before."

Chakotay already knew what she was implying by the tone of her comment. "Don't be gross."

"You are so gentle, my friend. Anyway, you texted me earlier asking me to call you. Imma callin' you, big bruh."

Chakotay rubbed his eyes. Sometimes having a conversation with Sekaya was like trying to talk to a hyperactive teenager. "I was thinking of picking Edgar up from school tomorrow and having him spend the weekend with me. That's if you don't have plans already."

"Ya, sure. I mean, _we_ don't have plans but I thought _you_ did. Weren't you going to dinner with Seska tomorrow or something like that?"

"She has to work. Actually, she's probably on a plane to New York right now."

"Ohhhh, fancy!"

"Yup. One of her coworkers was supposed to go but got sick, I think. I didn't quite understand what she said. They asked her to fill his spot and she couldn't say no. I don't blame her really, since she really wants to make partnership soon."

After a lengthy silence, "So, does that mean your clothes are somewhere on the floor?"

Chakotay paused at the non-sequitur. "What?"

"It's that thing you do when you know no one will complain about it."

"No I don't."

"Yes, you do. Before you met Madam Satan and lived in that apartment in Highland Park, any time I would go over I would find your clothes on the floor in the most random places. Pretty much any time you've lived alone your clothes lives on the floor."

"I don't-," Chakotay ran his hand through his hair and noticed his reading glasses weren't on his head. He groaned. They must have fallen when he scrambled for his phone.

"What?"

"I dropped my glasses." Chakotay had been pacing as he talked but now froze in place.

"Uh, well pick them up, genius."

"I'm in the dark."

Sekaya laughed. "I'm somewhat afraid to ask why."

"I was reading on the couch and it got dark on me. My Harry Potter spell didn't work and then you called so I never had a chance to turn on the light." There was no answer on the other end. Chakotay looked at his screen to make sure he hadn't accidentally ended the call. He hadn't "Hello?"

"And you think I'm the odd one in the family. Also, I'm sure this is my cue to hang up and tell you to go night-night."

Chakotay laughed. "The movie was on TV last night. Anyway, so may I pick up Edgar?"

"Sure. I'll ask him if he wants to go but I'm 110% sure he will."

"Okay, sounds great."

"By the way, you do know spells only work with a wand, right?"

"Good night, Sekaya."

"Be sure your glasses don't become the next victim of your giant Sasquatch feet. Night!"

She ended the call before he could even respond. "I don't have Sasquatch feet." He instinctively looked down at his feet which was pointless in the obscurity. Using the dim light from his phone he began to make his way toward the lamp when he heard the loud crunch. His missing glasses had been found.

"Perfect."

Chakotay didn't even bother with the light. He blindly made his way upstairs to go to bed.

[TBC]


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone that has been reading/reviewing. I really appreciate it.

* * *

No matter how hard he tried, Chakotay could never sleep in on his days off. He was lucky if he made it past six thirty in the morning. He slightly opened one eye and peeked at the alarm clock sitting on his night stand.

 _Quarter past six. Could be worse._

He closed his eyes again and rolled over in bed, stretching slightly. His eyes shot open when his left hand landed in something he couldn't identify. Popcorn was scattered all over Seska's side of the bed. There was popcorn under the sheets, some on the duvet cover, and others, Chakotay noticed, compressed to his sleep shirt.

"Oh, shi-"

Still in bed, he scooted to the other side of the mattress to discover the bowl from yesterday's movie night overturned on the floor.

"Well, this is lovely." He threw his head back onto the pillow and groaned. "This is not how I wanted to start the morning."

Chakotay eased himself out of bed and sauntered to the bathroom where he soon emerged with waste basket in hand. He bent down and picked up the bowl and set it on the table. Most of the popcorn on the bed was easy to clean since he was able to scoop it into the container. He ended up having to get on hands and knees to pick up the pieces that had fallen on the floor and under the bed. Once he was certain the floor was clean he slowly stood up, having to use the mattress for balance.

He stared at the bed wondering if he could possibly get away without washing the sheets. He slowly bent down and took a whiff of the material. No, they definitely needed to be washed. He stripped the bed, while grumbling to himself for his carelessness, gathered the sheets in his arms and made the trek downstairs to the laundry room.

When Chakotay wandered into the kitchen, he found Edgar sitting at the table eating breakfast.

"Whoa, someone is up early," Chakotay observed, as he walked past his nephew into the wash room. "You fall out of bed?"

"No." There was a pause. "Do people do that?"

At only seven, Chakotay forgot the boy took sometimes took things in their literal meaning. "It's just a saying, kiddo." He lifted the washer lid and shoved the sheets inside. "Actually, now that you bring it up, your mom fell out of bed once when she was young," he added, as he put detergent and fabric softener in the machine's compartments. "Fractured her wrist." He turned on the machine and walked back into the kitchen.

"I believe that. Mom can be very clumsy sometimes."

Chakotay nodded as he strode toward the refrigerator and opened the door. "She definitely can be." He scanned the sparse fridge. "What are you eating?"

"Cereal. I think it was called bran flakes. It's the only cereal I could find. It needs sugar, though."

"I forgot we had those."

"Oh, I finished the milk."

"I can see that." Chakotay closed the fridge without finding anything that appealed to him. "I was supposed to go grocery shopping yesterday before I picked you up from school but I never got around to it." Chakotay grabbed a granola bar from the pantry and took a bite while he prepared some coffee. "Good thing we ordered take-out for dinner last night. We would have starved otherwise."

Chakotay sat down at the table with his nephew while the coffee percolated. He studied the youngster as he ate. Edgar had the exact same hair as Sekaya: dark, straight, and very shiny. He was practically a clone of his mother in every way other than his lighter complexion and hazel eyes, which were one of the few things he inherited from his late father. He continued to observe the child and felt something wasn't right. "Everything okay?" he asked, as he took a bite of crunchy bar, a couple of crumbs escaping his mouth and landing on the table.

"Yeah." Edgar answered without looking up from his breakfast.

"Are you sure? You know, you can always talk to me if there's something bothering you."

Edgar put his spoon down, barely lifted his head to look at his uncle. He mumbled, "I'm scared you're going to back out."

Chakotay was confused. "Back out from what?"

"The pet thing."

Chakotay smiled. "I wouldn't do that to you."

"I know, but…" he shrugged.

"Don't worry about it. It's a promise I intend to keep."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." Chakotay squeezed the boy's shoulder as he passed by. He pulled his favorite mug from the cupboard and served himself a cup of the aromatic brew. He was going to have to drink his coffee black, which wasn't his favorite, since he had run out of half-and-half the day before. He thought about Edgar's remark as he took a couple sips. "I have an idea," he said, as he rejoined the boy at the table. "How about we go to the shelter today?"

"Really!?"

"Yeah, why not. There's no reason to wait for your actual birthday."

The little boy jumped from his seat so quickly he almost toppled it over. He ran over to his uncle and gave him a big hug. "You're the best," he said, as he tightly squeezed his uncle.

Chakotay returned the hug, grinning. "Remember to tell your mom that. She tends to forget."

Edgar giggled. "I definitely will. I'm going to get ready now," and took off running toward the stairs.

The child moved so quickly Chakotay barely had time to react. "The shelter doesn't open until…" he didn't bother to finish. At the rate Edgar was moving he had probably broken the sound barrier by now.

Chakotay shrugged. He eyed the discarded bowl sitting across from him. After a moment of procrastination, he reached over and dragged it his way, finishing off whatever Edgar had left.

/\/\/\/\

If Edgar had gotten his way, they would have been at the shelter by seven thirty. It had taken Chakotay a lot of effort to convince him that leaving later would be all right considering the shelter didn't open until nine.

Chakotay pulled into the underground parking structure of the Pasadena Humane Society at eight fifty-five on the dot. He was almost certain that if he had taken a second longer, Edgar would have exploded from anticipation.

Chakotay parked his car in a spot close to the elevator. "You ready, kiddo?" He turned to look at his nephew and was met with sparkly wide eyes and a giant toothy grin. He was certain Edgar was one characteristic shy of being an actual Disney character.

"I'm ready!" Edgar yelped as he unbuckled his seat belt and jumped out of the car.

"Looks like we go up the elevator to the first floor for adoptions," Chakotay concluded from the posted signs. To fill the time as they waited for the elevator, Chakotay asked, "Do you know what type of cat you want to get?"

A mischievous smile spread across Edgar's face. "A cute one."

"You are just like your mother," Chakotay muttered, shaking his head as the elevator doors opened and both stepped inside.

They exited into a beautiful, sunny courtyard. No one else appeared to be around. Chakotay was pretty sure they were the only people there that early to adopt an animal.

Edgar pointed at a sign. "There Uncle Chakotay." He squinted trying to block out some of the sunlight. "Neelix Cat Center," he slowly read.

"Neely, not Neelix."

"Oh."

"But close enough."

Edgar giggled, "I guess." He inspected the surroundings. "This place is really nice. I wouldn't mind living here if I were an animal."

"True. But wouldn't it better to live in a loving home instead, like you do with your mom."

"Unless she's angry," Edgar deadpanned.

Chakotay chuckled. "I agree with you on that one."

"Uncle Chakotay..." he strayed off.

"Yeah…?" Chakotay cautiously answered. He had a feeling there was something Edgar wanted based on his tone.

"Before we go into the cat center, can we please look at the dogs? Please." He batted his eyelashes and clasped his hands together in a begging motion. "Pleeeeeease."

As much as Chakotay wanted to be bothered by the fact that he was being controlled by a seven-year-old, he had a hard time stifling a laugh. Edgar had recently lost a front teeth and his over emphatic 'please' had produced an odd whistling sound that echoed in the courtyard.

Edgar wasn't even fazed by his uncle's chuckles. "I just want to see the dogs."

Chakotay sighed, as he wiped his eyes. "Okay. But just to look. No funny business."

"Yippee!" Edgar screeched, as he ran toward the dog adoption area.

"We're just looking!" Chakotay yelled at him.

By the time Chakotay made it to the door, Edgar was already inside talking to someone. He walked in and was immediately welcomed by an elderly lady.

"You must be Chakotay. Or should I say Uncle Chakotay," she laughed. "I'm Martha. I'm a volunteer here."

Chakotay shook her hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Martha. I see you already met my nephew, Edgar."

"I most certainly did. Edgar was telling me you want to look at the dogs in our adoption area. Any particular dog you are looking for?"

"No, no. We are planning on adopting a cat. Edgar just wanted to look at the dogs before we head on over to the cat center."

"Oh, I see." Martha glanced over at Edgar and smirked.

Somehow Chakotay felt Martha and Edgar were in cahoots, which was a ridiculous thought.

"Well, all dogs are in kennels down that way," she their attention toward a door that led outdoors. "Take as much time as you need. If you have any questions, I'll be here."

"Thank you," Chakotay smiled, "we really appreciate your help."

"And if by any chance you happen to see a dog you might want to get to know a little better, just jot down the number outside of the kennel and we can setup a meet-and-greet session, okay? Have fun, boys."

"Bye!" Edgar exclaimed, as he waved at Martha.

Chakotay pulled open the door and let Edgar walk in, who looked like he was ready to burst from sheer bliss. Chakotay envied the child's ability to find delight in such small events. He couldn't even recall the last time where he experienced pure joy. In had definitely been a long time.

Before they could make it further inside the kennel, Chakotay's phone started to ring. Pulling it out of his pant pocket, he checked the screen. "It's Seska. Why don't you go on ahead and I'll catch up."

"Okay!"

Chakotay and Seska had been playing phone tag for the last couple of days and it was frustrating. If one wasn't asleep, the other was in a meeting, or in traffic or at dinner.

He answered the phone. "Hey."

"Hey, stranger."

"No kidding. How's New York?"

"New York is New York. The bagels are good, though."

Chakotay laughed. "And work?"

"It's…I don't know. I mean, it's fine, just a lot going on."

"I see."

"So, what are you up to today?"

"I'm at the shelter with Edgar. Figured we'd adopt this weekend and not make him wait any longer."

There was a long pause followed by a very flat, "oh."

Chakotay got the feeling not everything was fine. Seska had not opposed the idea when he ran it past her a couple days ago. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Seska sighed. "I, you know, just assumed you wouldn't go through with it. That's all."

"But I told him-."

"Yeah, no, no. I get it. It's peachy keen. Anyway, I've been meaning to tell you, and I didn't want to text you this, but I won't be home tomorrow night like I thought."

"Oh really?"

"Seems more like Wednesday. Just a lot going on, you know?"

Chakotay didn't really _know_ but he wasn't going to ask her to elaborate. At least not at this moment. "Sure. I mean, it is work. You have to do what you have to do."

"Exactly. You get me. Well, I'll let you go. Love you."

"Ditto."

Chakotay stared at the black screen after the call ended. It had felt cold and unfamiliar; it was as though he was talking to a colleague and not to his girlfriend. And he couldn't quite shake her lackluster reaction to knowing they were at the shelter. Chakotay put his phone on silent and shoved it back in his pocket. He wasn't going to worry about this now.

 _Where the heck is Edgar?_

Chakotay walked down the row of cages, ignoring the barks and whimpers of the dogs he passed by, until he reached the end, where it split to the left and to right. He glanced in both directions and found no sign of Edgar.

 _How big is this place?_

He took a moment before intuition told him to go left. He continued to go down the row until he was forced to go right. When he turned, he spotted Edgar a couple kennels down. He was kneeling in front of one cage with someone by his side. Chakotay assumed it was another volunteer.

"There you are!"

Edgar waved him over. "You have to see these puppies! They're so cute!"

As Chakotay reached Edgar, he noticed it was a woman kneeling by his side. She stood up as Chakotay approached and slid her sunglasses to the top of her head. She glanced over at him and smiled. She was stunning.

"Hi," she stretched out one hand while the other held onto a rather large cup of coffee. "I'm Kathryn Janeway."

She had a lovely smile and melodious voice. Her blue eyes sparkled in the light. She wore a fitting tank top that showed off her toned arms and displayed the cute freckles on her shoulders and chest. Her hair was a subtle shade of red that had been thrown together into a messy bun. And on anyone else it would have looked like a disaster but on her it was absolutely lovely.

Chakotay was staring. He knew he was staring and he couldn't make himself stop. And he knew he was making her feel uncomfortable because her smile slowly started to fade.

"Hi. Sorry. I...I'm-" He was seriously making a terrible first impression. "Chakotay. Just call me Chakotay," he finally stammered out and took her hand. Her skin was soft and her hand felt tiny in his. That's when he realized he was shaking her hand a little too long and let go.

"Chakotay is such an interesting name."

"Yes." He paused trying to come up with an intelligent thing to say. "My parents gave it to me." _That's not intelligent, you idiot_! In the corner of his eye he caught Edgar glancing over at him, slightly scrunching his face. Even the kid knew he was acting foolish.

Kathryn laughed. "I'm glad they did because it's quite interesting."

Chakotay was certain Kathryn thought he was an idiot. He took a second to compose himself. "I'm sorry. I just got off an odd call and it's still going through my mind." To be honest, Chakotay had forgotten about his conversation with Seska. It was just an easy excuse to make up for his lack of finesse.

"Oh tell me about it. I know the feeling too well." She took a sip of her coffee and grimaced.

"You ok?"

"Oh, yeah. My coffee went cold already. I bought it about an hour ago. I thought the shelter opened at eight, not nine, so I had time to kill."

Chakotay laughed. "This one," he gestured at Edgar, "was ready to leave as the sun was coming up. I had to convince him otherwise."

"Too bad, we could have kept each other company," she added, with a chuckle.

Chakotay wasn't sure if she was flirting or just being nice but before he could dwell on it too much, Edgar interrupted.

"Uncle Chakotay, you have to see them!"

Chakotay glanced at Kathryn and smiled before kneeling by his nephew. There were two puppies in the kennel, both what appeared to be Golden Retrievers. One was very active and kept sticking its paws through the rail trying to whack Edgar. The other sat patiently by the wall watching the action, providing an occasional bark for encouragement.

"They're definitely cute," observed Chakotay, as he reached in to pet the dog's head.

Kathryn rejoined the group by kneeling beside them. As soon as she did, the calmer puppy made its way toward her and whimpered slightly. Kathryn, trying to calm the puppy down, reached in to pet its head but it licked her hand instead and scampered away.

"Well this one is sneaky!"

"Seems like she really likes you," Edgar added. "Do you think you'll adopt her?"

"I'm not sure. I came here with every intention of adopting but now…" Kathryn shrugged and stood up, "I'm not so sure."

Chakotay followed suit and got up. "Well, if it makes you feel any better we came here to adopt a cat." He glanced at Edgar playing with the dog then back at Kathryn, "now I'm not so sure." He pursed his lips. "I think I've been conned."

She laughed. "I was reading their information card," she pointed at the laminated paper hanging on the kennel, "and it says they would really like to adopt them togeth-"

Chakotay stopped listening the moment he noticed the wedding band on Kathryn's finger. He was too preoccupied noticing other things that he didn't pay attention to the very significant object. There was a sudden sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach and he really couldn't understand why. Kathryn was a stranger he had just met. He shouldn't be having feelings like these.

Having not listened to the rest of what Kathryn said, he safely added, "Two puppies are a lot to handle."

"I completely agree." She momentarily hesitated before continuing. "I used to have an Irish Setter named Mollie. I loved her so much. She passed away a little over three years ago. I haven't been able to get another pet since. I don't know why but I always get this feeling that I'm replacing her, you know? Which I'm not, but I can't help it."

Chakotay instinctually placed his hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, "I'm so sorry to hear that." He retrieved his hand quickly when he felt her shudder and noticed she was flushed. He chastised himself for being so forward with someone he barely knew.

There was an awkward silence between them both and Chakotay needed a distraction, fast. "Edgar, do you want to adopt him?"

The child shot up quickly, wide-eyed. "Seriously?!"

"Sure. You two seem to have bonded."

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Edgar shouted and jumped up and down. He turned to Chakotay. "I promise I'll take very good care of him when I visit and I'll teach him tricks and take him for walks." He returned his attention to the puppy bouncing around the cage as if he knew what was happening. "You're going home with me!"

Kathryn leaned toward Chakotay and whispered, "What does he mean by 'visit him'?"

"Oh, that. My sister doesn't have the time to watch over a pet so I volunteered to adopt one for him. The cat, well dog, will stay with me."

Kathryn grinned. "That's so sweet of you."

At that moment, Martha poked her head around the corner. "Is everything okay? Have questions? Need help?"

"Actually yes," Chakotay replied. "We'd like to adopt him," he pointed at the dog that was currently rolling on the ground.

"Oh, that's awesome! So glad you found a 'fur-ever' friend." Martha laughed and shook her head. "That never gets old."

"I'd like to adopt his sister," Kathryn interjected.

Chakotay quickly looked at Kathryn. "Really?"

"Sure. Life is too short to not take risks, right?"

"Wise words."

"Well, if everyone is ready, follow me and we can get the paperwork filled out and when that is done you can each have some proper time to meet your future pal. Sound good?"

"Sounds great." Chakotay and Kathryn answered, simultaneously. And the three of them followed Martha through the kennel and made their way back inside.

[TBC]


	4. Chapter 4

Two things preoccupied Kathryn's mind as she drove home from the shelter: the puppy currently sitting next to her on the passenger seat and Chakotay.

She felt ridiculous being drawn to someone she had recently met but she couldn't help herself and she didn't know why. Of course it could just be the fact that he was absolutely gorgeous, but Kathryn normally wasn't drawn to men for only that reason. He had seemed sweet and caring from their brief conversation. Maybe a little distracted at first, but she couldn't hold that against him. It didn't really matter because he wasn't available anyway.

/\/\/\

 _After they had followed Martha inside, Chakotay had excused himself from the group and left the room. Kathryn and Edgar were left alone while Martha gathered the proper forms in the office._

 _"_ _So, are you excited to be getting a puppy, Edgar?"_

 _Edgar grinned. "Yes! I hope this doesn't take long because I want to go home and play with him."_

 _"_ _Oh, I don't think it will be too bad."_

 _There was a pause in the conversation as Edgar wandered toward the wall covered in photographs of successful adoptions. Kathryn joined him, having this odd need to supervise the child. They silently observed the photos together until Kathryn spoke._

 _"_ _Your uncle was telling me the puppy is going to live with him."_

 _"_ _Yeah, he's going to live with him and Seska." Edgar frowned. "I'll get to see him on weekends."_

 _"_ _Who is Seska?"_

 _"_ _She's my uncle's girlfriend."_

 _"_ _Ah."_

 _"_ _She's all right. She can be very…" Edgar snapped his fingers as if he was trying to remember the correct word, "mon…monot…"_

 _"_ _Monotonous?" Kathryn offered._

 _"_ _Yes! That."_

 _Kathryn smiled. "That's a mighty big word for a little kid."_

 _"_ _My mom calls her that all the time. She doesn't like Seska."_

 _"_ _Oh, I see."_

 _"_ _My mom and uncle have arguments about it a lot."_

 _Before Kathryn could pry any further, Chakotay and Martha entered the room from different directions as if they secretly had planned their entrance._

 _"_ _Sorry for the delay. We're a little short staffed this morning." Martha added. "Well, Ms. Janeway, I have your paperwork right here. Please follow me. And you two," she pointed at Chakotay and Edgar, "I'll be right back for you. Don't move."_

 _When Kathryn left the dog adoption area, with puppy in tow, she scanned the space for any sign of Chakotay or Edgar. She had a strong desire to ask Martha about them but she thought that was way too forward. She ended up wandering to the shelter store in hopes of bumping into them there. After perusing the store for far too long and buying a couple of toys and dog food, she ended up leaving._

/\/\/\

Caught in her daydream bubble, Kathryn didn't realize she was already pulling into her driveway. She pushed her thoughts about Chakotay aside as she turned off the engine and looked over at the puppy that hadn't moved the entire ride. "Ready to go inside, little lady?" The puppy seemed to understand since she clumsily walked over to Kathryn's lap, momentarily getting her paw stuck in the cup holder. Kathryn giggled at the dog's 'Help me!' expression. "You are silly," she muttered, as she helped the puppy get unstuck.

Kathryn eventually picked the dog up and tried getting out of the car while carrying her but it was useless. "This isn't going to work. Let's try this." She attached the leash to the puppy's collar and put the dog on the ground. Kathryn held onto the leash tightly while she then got out of the car. "Much better, huh?" The pup merely blinked in acknowledgment.

Kathryn opened the car's back door to retrieve her purse and the bag of items she purchased at the shelter. She kicked the door shut with her foot and made her way up the walkway. The puppy still sat in the same spot Kathryn had placed her earlier. She had to lightly tug at the leash to get her to follow. "Welcome to your new home, Amelia."

As Kathryn approached the porch, she noticed something unfamiliar on her doormat. When she got closer she realized it was a wine bottle with a piece of paper tied to the neck. She climbed the steps and was about to pick the bottle up when she felt resistance from the leash. She turned around to find Amelia at the bottom of the steps. The puppy didn't bark or whimper; she just helplessly stared.

Kathryn laughed and jerked at the leash a bit, "Come on. You can do it." The puppy didn't budge. Kathryn tugged the leash once more but the puppy wasn't moving. "Okay…" Kathryn sighed and set her belongings on the floor. She walked down the steps and kneeled next to the puppy. As soon as Kathryn was close, Amelia sprinted up the steps, sat down by the door and wagged her tail.

Kathryn covered her face with both hands and let them slowly slide down. "Oh my-" She couldn't help but chuckle as she stood up. "This is going to be fun, huh?" The puppy barked in response.

Kathryn trudged up the steps, gathered her purse and bag, as well as the mysterious wine bottle, and unlocked the door. She crossed the threshold but the puppy didn't follow. "Not again," Kathryn moaned. She walked back out and as soon as she did the puppy ran inside. Kathryn threw her head back and groaned then walked inside and closed the door.

/\/\/\

Since Kathryn and Amelia had arrived home, everything had progressed smoothly. The puppy had briefly explored her surroundings and eventually made herself comfortable by the fireplace on the living room floor. She had fallen asleep almost immediately and that was almost four hours ago.

Every now and then Kathryn would poke her head into the room to check on her. Amelia was always asleep but in a slightly different position. She looked so cute sleeping that Kathryn wanted to pick her up and squeeze her, but she knew she needed to give her some time to adjust to her new environment.

Kathryn checked her watch and realized she had less than two hours before Phoebe, her sister, would arrive. They had a standing once a month date to catch up, alternating from each other's homes. Phoebe would visit Kathryn in Pasadena and Kathryn would visit Phoebe in Venice.

It dawned on Kathryn that she needed to buy groceries. One of the agreements between the two was that food needed to be prepared and eaten at home and not at some noisy restaurant. Take out was also frowned upon. Those were more of Phoebe's rules and not Kathryn's. Kathryn had just gone along with it to get her sister to stop talking. Unlike her sister, she didn't have the best cooking skills, but they were vastly improving. She could handle basic meals like spaghetti. She just didn't venture into the complicated recipes, she left those to Phoebe.

If Kathryn left now, it would give her enough time to run to the market before Phoebe arrived. A sudden wave of guilt ran through her. She didn't want to leave Amelia alone so soon but she really had no other choice. She walked outside to the recycling bin where she retrieved a handful of old newspapers. Kathryn tip-toed into the living room and carefully spread out the newspaper all over the wooden floor, glancing at the sleeping puppy every now and then. Kathryn made a mental note to pick up training pads at the store. She carefully made her way out of the room, grabbed her keys and purse and left.

/\/\/\

When Kathryn returned home she was hoping for the best but dreading the worst. She put the key in the slot and slowly turned the door knob. She opened the door about an inch or two in case Amelia decided to bolt outside. There was no sign of the puppy so she pushed the door open a bit further. She crept in with bags in hand, slowly pushed the door shut with her back and stood in the entryway listening. Complete silence except the subtle snoring coming from the living room.

 _Is she still sleeping?_

Kathryn set the bags down and walked into the other room. Amelia was asleep but there were signs that she had been roaming. The toys Kathryn had bought her earlier weren't where she had left them, there was a small dark circle on one of the newspapers and upon further investigation, the bowl that had been full of kibble in the kitchen was now empty.

Kathryn laughed to herself. "When the cat's away, the mice will play."

She walked back to the entryway to get her grocery bags. She put everything away and decided she would read on the couch until Phoebe showed up. She was on her way to the living room when she detected the mysterious wine bottle from earlier. Kathryn had completely forgotten about it with everything else going on. She picked it up from the table and read the handwritten note:

 _Hi!_

 _This is your neighbor from across the street (greyish house, red door). You appeared a bit sad the other day on the porch and thought you could use a little pick-me-up. I'm here if you ever need to talk._

 _Sincerely,  
Annika_

Kathryn felt delighted and embarrassed all at once. It was nice to know there were friendly people still around. But she was mainly ashamed that someone had witness her pathetic, lonely state after Mark left. She also realized that after four years living in her neighborhood, she hardly knew any of her neighbors other than a hello here and there.

She walked to the closest window facing the street and slowly moved the curtain aside, pulling her best Nancy Drew and trying not to be noticed. She spotted the house immediately. It was somewhat hard to miss a house with a red door but somehow Kathryn had managed to do so. She squinted, trying to make out any movement inside the house. She was positive she had seen an elderly lady in the garden a couple of times. _Maybe that's Annika?_ There was also a leggy blonde, but Kathryn thought she was a visitor and not an occupant. Kathryn was so focused on observing the house that a sudden bark almost made her jump out of her skin.

"Amelia! Don't do that!" The puppy simply wagged her tail as Kathryn clutched her chest. "You scared me half to death! If you kill me, who is going to feed you?"

Kathryn composed herself and turned to the window just in time to notice Phoebe pulling up. "Your aunty is here, Amelia." She bent down and scratched the top of the puppy's head. "I can't be mad at you, you're too cute."

They both walked to the door and Kathryn opened it before Phoebe could ring the doorbell.

"Whoa! Were you spying on me?"

"Of course not!" Kathryn answered a bit too forcefully.

"Chill, big sister. I was kidding." Phoebe paused briefly. "Unless, you were…"

"You shush and get your butt inside. You have someone to meet."

"Oh? A new boytoy?" Phoebe waggled her eyebrows.

"Very funny." Kathryn deadpanned. "Nope. Someone better."

"Oh?"

Kathryn grinned and slowly turned, one arm stretched in a grand gesture. "Meet Amel-" She stopped midway, lowered her arm and frowned. "Where'd she go?"

"Who?"

"Amelia."

"Aren't you a little too old to be having imaginary friends, Katie?" Phoebe mocked concern and patted her sister on the head.

Kathryn swatted her hand away. "Oh shut up and help me find her."

Phoebe closed the front door and followed Kathryn into the darkening living room, throwing her effects on the nearest chair. "It would helpful if I knew who I was looking for."

"A puppy. Golden Retriever to be exact."

"You got a puppy!?"

Kathryn winced at Phoebe's shriek. "Yes, today. Figured it was time."

"Good! I'm glad." Phoebe clapped her hands together. "Now to find her because I really want to pick her up and cuddle her and-"

"You might want to hold off on that," Kathryn warned. "She's a tad peculiar.

"How so?" Phoebe asked as she picked up a throw pillow from the couch and glanced under it.

"She's not going to be under there, Phoebe!"

"Hey! You never know." Phoebe could feel Kathryn rolling her eyes even though her back was to her.

"Let's check the other rooms." Kathryn suggested.

Kathryn and Phoebe ventured into the kitchen where they found Amelia curled up in the far right corner of the room by her dish.

"Found her!" Phoebe proclaimed.

"I'm not blind, Pheebs. I see her too."

Phoebe shrugged. "Just checking."

"Let her relax there so we can eat." Kathryn pulled out a stool from the kitchen island and patted the seat. "Here, sit."

"Yes, ma'am."

Kathryn opened the fridge door and started pulling out all sorts of items. "I went to Trader Joe's earlier and bought some meats and cheeses. Thought we could have a charcuterie board."

"I don't want to sound like a meanie, sis, but that's not really cooking."

"True, but I know how much you love this stuff."

"Did you get prosciutto?" Kathryn pulled out a package from the fridge and wiggled it in the air. Phoebe smiled. "All right, all if forgiven."

"You're a dummy," Kathryn remarked.

"Yeah, but you love me anyway."

"Unfortunately." Kathryn began to slice the cheeses and place them on a platter. "Do you want some wine or something else?"

"Wine sounds good."

Kathryn tilted her head toward the nicely stocked wine rack as she focused on the slicing. "Choose whatever you want."

Phoebe carefully examined each bottle. "How have you been since Mark moved out?"

"Fine, actually. I mean, he technically moved out months ago. Now it's just official."

"I guess. Are you keeping the house?"

Kathryn sighed. "I don't know. We divide assets next time we meet with our lawyers. I guess either we sell or I buy out Mark's half."

Phoebe opened a drawer and searched for the wine opener. "Oh."

"Do you mind if we switch topics. Not quite fond of this one."

"Sure, sorry. Didn't mean to bum you out."

"You didn't. How's Adam?" Kathryn asked and she struggled to open the smoked Gouda's packaging.

"Oh, that. It's over. He was a cheater. Next subject."

"We are a delightful bunch, aren't we?" Kathryn snickered.

"So, you adopted a puppy? And not just any puppy, a soon to be horse."

Kathryn laughed. "No kidding."

"Let me guess, you named her Amelia for Amelia Earhart."

"DING! DING! DING!"

Phoebe chuckled as she uncorked the bottle and poured the wine. "You were always so fascinated by her."

"She was definitely an inspiration for me."

"Tell me about it. You dressed as her for that one Halloween."

"I forgot about that! Wait, wasn't that the year you went as, um…" Kathryn threw her head back in thought while tapping her fingers on the countertop. "What was that painter?"

"Salvador Dali," Phoebe mumbled, as she returned to her seat with two wine glasses in hand.

Kathryn's husky laugh filled the room. "That was a riot! Your mustache kept falling off..." Kathryn continued to giggle. "And then, you got so pissed off that it wouldn't stay in place you started to cry and ran home."

Phoebe joined her sister in laughter. "Oh, man, and we wonder why the neighborhood kids didn't care for us much."

"Right? You, consumed with art and me, consumed with science." Kathryn wiped her teary eyes. "We had some good times, though."

"We definitely did." Phoebe took a drink. "Tell me a bit more about Amelia."

Kathryn placed the finished board in front of them and gestured for Phoebe to eat. "There's a lot of speculation since she was found by the side of the road, but the shelter thinks she's about three months."

"Oh, so she was born around February?"

"Yeah, possibly. Kathryn grabbed her glass of wine and took a mouthful. "Mmmm, this is good? What is this?"

"It's a Shiraz. Impressed by your own wine, I see." Phoebe sarcastically added.

Kathryn ignored her and kept going. "They think she may have been the runt of the litter because she was smaller and calmer than her brother. She's healthy, though."

"Oh, she has a brother?"

"Well, they assume they were siblings since they resemble each other and were found together. Chakotay adopted the brother."

Phoebe's eyebrows shot up and her eyes widened. "Chakotay?"

Kathryn could feel herself blushing. She kept on talking, hoping Phoebe wouldn't register her flushed appearance. "He was there with his nephew. Little kid. Named Edgar. Cute child. Pretty smart."

"And how was the uncle, huh?" Phoebe teased. "I mean, he must have been something because you are close to matching this." Phoebe picked up a tomato from the bowl on the counter and placed it by Kathryn's head. "Actually, I think you make a better tomato."

Kathryn glared at Phoebe. "It's the wi-"

"And don't blame it on the wine because you took one sip."

Kathryn placed both hands on the counter and sighed. "Don't judge me by what I'm about to say but he was gorgeous, Phoebe. Absolutely stunning."

"Oooo, I'm liking this story already. Go on."

Kathryn snorted. "I ran into Edgar first. He told me he was there with his uncle to adopt a cat and-"

"Wait, why were they in the dog area?"

"Because Edgar is a sneaky snake."

"Oh, okay. Continue."

"Anyway, so eventually Chakotay shows up. I was wearing my sunglasses so at first I couldn't see him so well. Plus, he wasn't that close. But once I removed them…" Kathryn smiled. "I mean, he's tall and somewhat built. I don't know exactly how to describe him, really. He has beautiful skin. His hair is dark but speckled with grey and slightly long. Nicely dressed, too."

"Geez, Katie, I haven't seen you this excited about anything since the Curiosity rover thing."

Kathryn became serious. "I know. It's bizarre. He even touched my shoulder when I mentioned Mollie and I thought I was going to burst. I was able to keep calm, though. But this is the first time I've reacted to someone this intensely."

"Did you get his number?" Phoebe sneered and snuck out her tongue.

"I didn't."

"Kathryn!"

"Phoebe, it's a shelter not a dating service." Kathryn paused. "Plus, he has a girlfriend."

"So! Girlfriend doesn't mean fiancé or wife."

"I know, but no. Plus, if he was interested he could have asked."

Phoebe stared at her sister. "Not if you're wearing that." She gazed down at Kathryn's wedding band. "You need to take that off."

"I should, I guess."

Phoebe hopped off the stool, ran over to Kathryn and grabbed her hand. "Here, I'll help!"

"Pheebs, you're going to pull my finger off along with the ring!"

"Geez, Kathryn, with how bony your fingers are you would think this would slide right off." Phoebe tugged at the ring a bit more. "I know!" She pulled Kathryn by the arm toward the fridge and opened it. "This should help." She grabbed a stick of butter and unwrapped it.

"What on earth?" Kathryn was midway between irritated and giggly.

"This will help it come off," Phoebe said as she rubbed the butter over Kathryn's finger. She pulled on the ring again and it easily slid off. "See!"

Kathryn rubbed her hand. "You know, it also works with lotion or dish soap."

"True, but this was much more fun." She handed the ring to her sister.

Kathryn exhaled and wiped the ring and her hand clean with a paper towel. She shoved the ring into her jeans pocket. "Why don't we get the food and watch a movie in the other room?" Kathryn proposed.

"Sounds like a plan."

They gathered the food and left the room without Amelia ever noticing.

[TBC]


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: First of all, thank you for the reviews and favs. They are great motivators. Also, I really struggled with this chapter. The words were just not flowing how I wanted them to. I hope the next chapter will be easier to write. ::crosses fingers::

* * *

Chakotay ripped the Amazon box open with just a tad too much force that a couple of items fell onto the kitchen floor. He hadn't even bothered with box cutters; he just pulled the box flaps apart with his bare hands. In a way, it was a good way of dealing with his frustration. His usual quiet, restful, and uneventful Mondays were now a thing of the past.

Einstein, what Edgar had so lovingly decided to name his dog, came zooming into the kitchen trying to determine the source of the raucous. He immediately spotted a stuffed monkey by Chakotay's foot. The puppy cautiously made its way to the toy, sniffed it, came to the conclusion it was safe to handle and ran off with the toy to the other room.

"You're welcome!" Chakotay yelled behind him as he bent down to pick up the other fallen items. He pulled the rest of the stuff, mostly dog treats and toys, out of the package and set them on the counter.

He grabbed the box and flung it into the laundry room, making a mental note to place it in the recycling bin on trash day. Unfortunately, the box landed with a thud right outside its intended destination. Chakotay closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "It's not worth losing your cool over a box," he muttered to himself. As he bent down to pick it up, he thought of a Spanish saying his mom frequently used, _el haragán trabaja doble_ which roughly translated to _the lazy person works twice as hard_.

Chakotay returned to the kitchen after placing the box on top of the washer in the laundry room. He loudly sighed as he found a place for the treats in the cupboard. He didn't want to admit this to himself but deep down he felt he had made a terrible mistake adopting the puppy. He had never owned a dog before and didn't contemplate the amount of work and patience it took. He was known to be a very patient person but this dog was testing his limits.

It had only been two days since the puppy had arrived at the house and within that timeframe he had managed to dig a couple of holes in the backyard; one Chakotay had very gracefully tripped over as he searched for the dog last night. Edgar's math notebook had become his favorite chew toy. He had also decorated Chakotay's shoes with a nice layer of slobber and had decided every available surface in the house was his private restroom. There was at least one positive: the puppy slept throughout most of the night. Well, if most of the night meant from midnight to about five in the morning.

 _I wonder how Kathryn is holding up._

The mysterious woman from the shelter had managed to pop into his thoughts from time to time since their meeting Saturday morning. He assumed he would have seen her after the adoption process, but when he asked Martha about her whereabouts, she told him Kathryn had already left. He felt a pang of disappointment and kicked himself for not getting her contact information before they parted. He figured it would have been nice for the siblings to visit each other every now and then, at least that's what Chakotay told himself.

The thoughts of Kathryn drifted away as Chakotay realized it was too quiet in the house and the slight sense of dread set in. Quiet never meant anything good, especially when it pertained to a mischievous dog. He slowly stepped into the living room to find Einstein chewing away at his toy. The poor monkey was soaked in saliva and was already missing an eye. Chakotay would gladly buy all the toys in the world if it meant a quiet and entertained puppy.

Chakotay checked the clock on top of the mantle. There were still a couple of hours before he had to be at puppy training classes with Einstein. He had almost declined the training lessons when Martha suggested them but now he was wondering if he should sign up for more.

He had chosen a Monday afternoon class since he didn't have to go to work and he figured Edgar could join him after school. Not until Sekaya reminded him of Edgar's soccer practice did Chakotay realize the idea was a bust. He would have to attend solo.

Chakotay glanced at Einstein who was still busy chewing away at his toy. On any of his other days off, he would have gone out for a run or taken a trip to Sekaya's restaurant, but now he didn't want to keep his eyes away from the dangerous ball of fur. Not knowing what else to do, he grabbed the remote from the table, sat on the couch and watched television until it was time to leave.

/\/\

The moment the elevator doors opened into the shelter's courtyard, Einstein dashed out. Chakotay was glad he had worn his running shoes and not his Converse like he initially planned. He needed extra traction when handling the pup. He had already removed his button down shirt in the car when he noticed the set of muddy paw prints on his chest. They must have been souvenirs when he carried the dog into the car after it chased a squirrel into the neighbor's yard.

They had plenty of time to make it to the training room on the other side of the building, but apparently Einstein decided he was a detective and needed to inspect every inch of every wall, plant, and walkway at the shelter.

"Come on, boy." Chakotay tugged at the leash to no avail. He raised his voice this time, "Come on, we're going to be late!"

"Oh, I don't know, I think you have plenty of time."

Chakotay recognized the very distinct voice and quickly turned around to find Kathryn standing a couple feet away, her puppy sitting obediently by her side.

"Hi," Chakotay managed followed by a silly wave.

"Hi, stranger. Having trouble?"

"No, no. We're doing great." Chakotay sarcastically answered.

Kathryn laughed. "I can see that. So, are you here for the four o'clock training?"

"I am. You?"

"Yup."

"What are the odds?"

"I'm sure I can calculate them if you give me some time."

Chakotay wanted to question what she meant but he noticed Einstein walking further away from their intended destination. Chakotay groaned, jogged toward the puppy and picked him up. "We'll never get there otherwise."

Kathryn smiled as she opened the door and held it for Chakotay. She let Amelia walk in first since she eventually realized the dog liked to lead, and then she followed.

"No Edgar today?"

"No. Soccer practice. I signed up for class on Monday since I don't work but I forgot about his practice."

"I think he would have loved to be here."

"I know but I'm thinking of signing up for another class."

"That bad?"

"Let's just say the backyard resembles a mini golf course. I'm thinking of charging the neighborhood kids to use it during summer."

"And the money can pay for treats."

"Are you here for the training course?" A young man, most likely in his twenties, asked them from a couple feet away.

Chakotay and Kathryn looked over at the man that had interrupted their conversation. "We are" they simultaneously answered and glanced at each other.

"Hi. I, um…" He seemed nervous. "Sorry, it's my first training class alone. I'm Ivan," he pointed at the name badge on his polo shirt as he slightly blushed. "Let me see," he scanned a list attached to his clipboard, "you must be Mr. and Mrs. Martin."

Awkwardness passed through Chakotay and Kathryn and neither one glimpsed at the other. Chakotay moved uncomfortably around while still holding the puppy and cleared his throat.

"Um, we aren't married. Actually, we aren't even a couple," Kathryn quietly informed Ivan.

"Oh! I-I'm so, so sorry." Ivan blushed even more and ran his hand through his jet black hair causing part of it to stick up. "I apologize, I just assumed with the similar puppies…" he gestured between both dogs.

Kathryn smiled, trying to calm the poor guy. "It's okay. Mistakes happen. The puppies are siblings, though, so I can see why you thought that."

Chakotay shifted the weight of the puppy to one arm and with the other patted Ivan on the shoulder. "It's fine, kid. We're not upset. Right, Kathryn?"

"Right."

Ivan let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks. Well, if you like to come inside and take a seat. We'll get started in about five minutes."

He observed Kathryn's and Chakotay's body language as they walked into the room. He returned his focus to the hallway and mumbled under his breath, "If they aren't a couple they certainly fooled me."

/\/\

All her life Kathryn had been a disciplined student and in later years, a methodical scientist and educator. She was always focused, received excellent grades, and in college she was known to forego a party in order to stay in and study. Very little could distract her. However, Kathryn had met the one area she couldn't quite conquer: puppy training. It wasn't so much that she found the subject matter difficult, it was that she felt distracted by one pupil in particular.

She thanked the heavens that Amelia was a very cooperative and smart puppy because Kathryn was only listening to half of what Ivan was saying. She was sure she would need to borrow Amelia's notes when they got home from class. Kathryn giggled at her own daft thought and was glad everyone else was too preoccupied with the class to notice her giggling by herself, until she caught Chakotay watching her. He smirked before his attention was drawn back to his own dog.

 _Focus, Kathryn. Focus._

Her pep talk wasn't working. She gazed over at Chakotay again. Unlike the other day, he wore a simple white shirt. The tee almost seemed too white to Kathryn, if that could be possible. All she knew is that it contrasted nicely against his tanned skin. She had also noted it was fitted in all the right places, especially the arms, where she had discovered the possibility of an arm tattoo. In one of Chakotay's struggles with his puppy, the sleeve of his shirt had risen and she was certain she had caught some design. He had pulled it back into place before she could make out what it was.

"Ms. Janeway?"

Kathryn jumped at the sound of her name. Ivan stood in front of her with his arm outstretched.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. Here's a treat for the sitting exercise."

"Oh, uh, thanks." She took the treat from Ivan and gave it a quick inspection. She then unconsciously looked over at Chakotay to find him staring straight ahead but sporting a giant grin. _He knows. He knows I was watching him!_ Kathryn swallowed hard and refocused her attention to the front of the class.

For the remainder of the lesson, Kathryn became the obedient pupil she had always been and never allowed her vision wander again.

/\/\

Chakotay was certain the last hour had been the most frustrating hour of his life, and that meant a lot from someone who had grown up with Sekaya as a sister. Even though the room was well air conditioned, he had managed to break out in a sweat from all the constant moving. He was sure he didn't sweat this much when he went one of his five mile hikes.

At least he had been successful in teaching Einstein how to sit on command. The treat incentive did help a lot, though. He figured he would constantly walk around the house with dog treats in his pockets at all hours of the day.

Throughout the training he felt somewhat embarrassed Kathryn had gotten stuck next to him. He caught her glancing in his direction a couple of times and other times he could sense her staring at him. She was probably thinking he was being a great distraction to her and her dog, as well as a terrible dog owner.

Chakotay glanced over at Kathryn who was talking to Ivan and someone else. Once she was available, he was going to apologize for being a disturbance. He didn't think it wasn't necessary, but he just wanted any excuse to talk to her again.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to find Mrs. Martin. At the beginning of class everyone had introduced themselves and their dogs. Mr. and Mrs. Martin had arrived a few minutes late and when they introduced themselves, Chakotay and Ivan had a moment of awkward eye contact. Chakotay had made every effort not to react to the situation. The Martins were an elderly couple, complete opposites of Kathryn and Chakotay.

"Hi, my dear. I'm Mrs. Martin. I know we introduced ourselves earlier, but I just wanted to do it again. Sometimes I need to speak to people several times to properly remember their names. This-" she pointed at her head, "doesn't work that well anymore."

Chakotay smiled and shook her hand. "Hi, I'm Chakotay. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh, my dear! I'm going to faint!"

"Are you okay? Do you need to sit down?" Chakotay said in a panic.

Mrs. Martin merely laughed. "Oh, sorry, no. Your dimples. They caught me off guard."

Chakotay lowered his head in embarrassment and nervously chuckled.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you." She reached up and patted his cheek. "You're just a very nice looking man. I'm sure you know this but just in case you don't…" she smirked and arched an eyebrow. "Anyway, nice meeting you and I'll see you next week," she winked at him as she turned around to leave.

Chakotay was left stunned and only managed to say "Until next week" as he watched Mrs. Martin rejoin her husband. He was certain he was having some sort of fever daydream. He turned around to see if Kathryn had witnessed any of their interaction but she was gone. His shoulders slumped and he mumbled, "Not again." He waved bye to Ivan as he and Einstein headed for the door.

When he exited the classroom he was relieved to find Kathryn leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. He couldn't help feeling delighted when he realized she was waiting for him.

"The Martins are something, huh?" she said with a cheeky grin.

Chakotay walked over to her. "From that look on your face I'm guessing something happened?"

"Let's just say I've never been hit on by a seventy something year old man before."

Chakotay chuckled. "They are definitely an interesting couple."

"The moment I saw Mrs. Martin headed your way I knew you were in trouble. I couldn't watch." Kathryn giggled. "What did she tell you?"

Chakotay grimaced and muttered, "She mentioned something about my looks then she winked at me."

"She winked at you?"

"Yup."

"Wow."

"I know."

They shared a pleasant moment of silence as they watched both dogs interact with one another.

"I wonder if they miss each other?" Kathryn finally asked.

Chakotay took a second to ponder the question. "Maybe?"

Kathryn glimpsed at her watch. "I should get going."

"Oh… okay." Chakotay tried to hide the disappointment in his tone, but didn't think he had succeeded.

Kathryn and Chakotay slowly walked down the hallway. "I think I'm going to get a cup of coffee before I drive home."

"Isn't it a little late to be having coffee?"

"It's never too late for coffee."

Chakotay snorted as he opened the door that led toward the courtyard and let Kathryn exit first. "If I had coffee now I would be awake until three in the morning."

"I would say you could have decaf but we all know that stuff is garbage."

"So I guess I should throw away the decaf I have at home?"

"Immediately."

Chakotay laughed as they reached the elevator, pressed the button and waited for the doors to open.

"I actually parked somewhere else today," Kathryn informed him as she took a step back. "We went to the park that's about a block away before class."

"Oh, all right. So I guess I'll see you next week?"

Kathryn nodded and walked away. Chakotay didn't want her to leave just yet. He had such a desire to spend hours talking to her even if the conversation was only about dogs and coffee and nothing else. He didn't care. He had this unknown urge to be around her. And he sense she felt the same way, too.

"Kathryn," he yelled before she reached the outside gate, "I'm actually somewhat thirsty. Mind if I join you?"

Kathryn stopped midstep and turned around with a big smile across her face. "I would love that."

"Come on, boy," Chakotay whispered to Einstein as they both walked toward Kathryn.

[TBC]


	6. Chapter 6

For some reason Kathryn felt nervous. But it wasn't necessarily the sense of nervousness that engulfed her when she was about to deliver a speech to a large crowd or present her research findings in front of other faculty members. No, it was something else; something almost pleasant.

She definitely didn't experience this sensation when she met Mark, or any other person she ever dated, for that matter. She couldn't quite remember if she ever had felt this way before. The only instance that came close was when she was quietly enamored with the student body president in high school. But wasn't it a little bit foolish to be having a school girl crush at her age? Either way, she liked it and she wasn't going to let it deter her.

After Chakotay requested she lead the way to the coffee place, they had walked side by side in virtual silence for a little over a block. She realized this was the first time they were purposely alone together. No Edgar or Martha or Ivan to interrupt them. She wondered if Chakotay realized it, too.

"I can't believe how well Einstein is doing." Chakotay broke the silence as they crossed the street.

"First time going for a walk?"

"Well, it's the first time I'm not chasing after him."

Kathryn laughed. "I'm certain those classes will help a lot. He already seems calmer."

"Possibly. I feel it's because he's back with his sister."

"Could be."

"Amelia…that was her name, right?" Chakotay glanced over at Kathryn for confirmation.

"Uh-huh."

"Amelia seems wonderful. Complete opposite from this one." Chakotay pointed at his dog.

"She's been great, really. She sleeps a lot. Not really into playing, though. The only thing that's a tad different is that she likes to lead. She has to be first going up the stairs or through the door."

"A little diva."

"Apparently. Oh, turn right at the corner. The Starbucks is at the other end."

"Okay." Chakotay gently tugged on Einstein's leash to make him turn. "Do you come here often?"

Kathryn shook her head. "Oh, no. Well not this one in particular. I pretty much go to any coffee shop that's closest to me at the moment. I only know about it because I was here on Saturday."

"That's right, I remember that giant cup of coffee you had that was the size of Edgar."

Kathryn scowled. "It wasn't _that_ big!"

"I don't know," Chakotay singsonged. "I'm pretty sure I've seen apartments smaller than that cup."

"Oh, shush!" Without realizing what she was doing, Kathryn playfully pushed Chakotay on the shoulder. He didn't even budge. She hadn't expected to feel such defined muscles under her palm that she quickly removed her hand. "Sorry," she hastily added.

"Don't be," Chakotay laughed, "I just never expected to get beaten up over coffee."

"Stop it!" Kathryn giggled. She stopped herself from shoving him once more even though she really wanted to touch him again. She was surprised to find out how warm he felt, even with the layer of his shirt in between.

"Oh good, they have a patio. We can sit outside with the kids. I mean dogs." Chakotay gently tugged on his ear in an apparent moment of discomfort. "But only if you want. We can always get our drinks and walk back."

Kathryn smiled, trying to relieve his uneasiness. "No, that's fine. I would like to sit for a while actually."

"Good." Chakotay noticeably relaxed. "I'm surprised the patio is empty."

"Me too. Better for us, I guess."

He pointed toward the corner. "There's a table over there in the shade."

They walked toward the table and Kathryn sat down. She unzipped her purse and pulled out a bottle of water and a collapsible water dish. Both puppies wandered around the table sniffing their surroundings. When they noticed Kathryn placing the dish on the floor they quickly walked toward it and drank.

Chakotay stared at the dogs then looked over at Kathryn. "Wow, you really are prepared. I didn't even think about that."

Kathryn merely shrugged. "Why don't you order and when you get back I'll go."

"Don't worry. I'll get your drink. What do you want?"

"No, it's okay. I'll get it." Kathryn bent over and added more water to the puppies' bowl.

"I insist. It'll be my treat…for making fun of your drink earlier."

Kathryn snorted. "Deal. I'll have a venti coffee."

"Room for cream?"

"No."

"Sugar?"

"No."

"So, just black."

"Yup. Coffee, black."

"And you'll be able to sleep tonight?"

"Like a baby," Kathryn beamed.

Chakotay scanned the patio as if searching for something. "Hmmm…"

"What?" Kathryn looked around as well, somewhat confused.

"I was trying to find a wheel barrow or something else to carry out your enormous drink."

Kathryn pursed her lips in an effort to stop from giggling. "Oh, shut up!"

Chakotay chuckled. "I'll be right back."

"Okay." Kathryn grabbed her phone from her purse to check her email, but instead of looking at the screen, she peeked above it and watched him walk away. She felt the flutter in her stomach again and felt herself get warm. She quickly shook her head in an inept way to make the impure thoughts going through her mind disappear. She returned her focus to her phone and sighed. _Oh, Kathryn, you are so doomed_.

/\/\

Chakotay pushed the patio door open with his back and carried out the drinks to the table. He found the puppies cuddled together, asleep under the table and Kathryn fiddling with her phone. She only looked up when he set the drinks down.

"I didn't even see you coming."

"I noticed."

She sighed. "Sorry. I was checking emails. Some of my students are freaking out over their grades. Typical stuff." She examined Chakotay's green tinted drink. "What is that?"

"Iced green tea."

"Oh."

"Don't mock my tea."

Kathryn smirked. "I wasn't. Well, at least not anymore."

"You said something about students?" Chakotay queried as he sat down and handed Kathryn her cup of coffee.

She was still holding her phone with her right hand, so she reached for the cup with her left, and that is when he instantly noticed the missing wedding band. For a second he thought the ring may have been a figment of his imagination on Saturday, but when he looked closer at her finger he detected a very faint tan line.

"What?" Kathryn moved her hand away from the cup and eyed the area he was staring at.

Chakotay instantly snapped out of his daze. "Oh, uh, you know…" He cleared his throat to buy himself some time. "I was, uh, just noticing they spelled my name wrong." He internally high-fived himself for coming up with a believable excuse so quickly.

Kathryn furrowed her eyebrows and picked up the white and green cup. She twisted her wrist until she found his name sloppily written in black marker.

"C-H-E-R-O-K-A-Y," she slowly spelled out loud as she tried deciphering the letters. She quizzically looked at Chakotay. "So how do you spell it?"

"C-H-A-K-O-T-A-Y."

"Oh," she glimpsed at the cup again. "Well, at least they got some of the letters."

"That's true."

"I bet it happens a lot."

"About ninety-nine percent of the time." Chakotay chuckled. "Most people ask how to spell it, though."

"At least it's unique and memorable." Kathryn made a movement as if she was going to pat his hand but quickly stopped herself and clutched her coffee instead.

Chakotay noticed her actions but made an effort not to make it seem like he did.

"When I was younger, I think about ten or eleven, there was this kid in my class, a total bully, and his name was Mike. Complete pain in the ass. At some point he decided it would be funny to call me Chuckie and-"

"Like the horror movie doll?" Kathryn questioned, her coffee cup halfway toward her mouth.

"Yeah, that one. He thought he was so creative." Chakotay rolled his eyes and went on with the story. "Unfortunately for me, he eventually settled on Chuckles. So for about two months it was 'Hey! Chuckles!' or 'Chuckles, how's it going?' and I got really tired of it."

Kathryn's eyes widened. "Oh, no. What did you do?"

"One day after school I told him to cut it out or else. Of course he didn't take me seriously and mocked my efforts, so I punched him. Knocked him out cold."

"You did not!"

"I did. Was suspended for several days."

"Oh, Chakotay," Kathryn leaned her head to the side in a form of pity.

"It was worth it."

"I'm making a mental note to stay on your good side then. Good thing I didn't make fun of your tea," she giggled.

Chakotay laughed. "I'm not like that anymore. I was an angry kid. I've let a lot of that anger go."

Right at that moment, a fire truck and ambulance rushed through the intersection with their sirens blaring. The peacefully sleeping puppies woke up in an instant, howling and barking along with the air horns. They scampered around the table while Kathryn and Chakotay made every effort to settle them down.

"Get over here, Einstein!" Chakotay bellowed as the puppy ran under his seat, his leash trailing behind him.

"Amelia! Stop!" Kathryn yelled, trying to grab the puppy as she ran by. When she reached over again to catch the dog, her elbow accidentally hit her cup of coffee which sent it teetering about the table.

Chakotay was quick enough to grab it before it ended up on the floor but some of the liquid landed on his hand. "Oh, shit! It's hot!"

By now, Kathryn had managed to get ahold of both dogs by the collars and held onto them tightly as she tried to catch her breath. Both pups were panting heavily from the excitement and Chakotay was gently shaking his hand.

"I'm glad we're the only ones sitting outside because that was ridiculous," Kathryn scoffed.

Chakotay moved his head toward the direction of the windows. "You forgot about them."

Kathryn glanced to where Chakotay was pointing and noticed a couple of people laughing or grinning at them. "Great," she rolled her eyes.

Chakotay laughed while he flexed his hand. "Coffee and a show. What more can you ask for?"

Kathryn ignored his comment. "Let me see." She reached for him and gently grabbed his hand. "How much coffee landed on it?" She asked as she carefully rubbed her thumb over the reddish spots.

"Not much, I think." Chakotay wasn't even aware of the pain. All he knew was that Kathryn was caressing his hand and it felt delightful.

"It doesn't appear like it will blister. Which is good." She held his hand a bit longer than she should have before slowly letting go and sitting back in her seat. "Do you want to leave or-"

"No, I'm fine. Unless you want to?"

"No, no. I wouldn't mind finishing my coffee."

"You mean your flesh burning liquid?"

Kathryn chuckled and took a drink. "It's quite delicious."

They sat in comfortable silence for a while during which Chakotay took the opportunity to casually study his companion from time to time. She wore her hair in a bun again. But it had slightly come undone while she frantically tried to calm the dogs, causing some tendrils to fall around her face. He thought they made her seem even younger. Every time she took a sip of her coffee, she gently smacked her lips together in a manner that made it appear she was examining and enjoying every last drop. And he couldn't help glancing back at her ring finger wondering what the story was behind the mystery.

"I've been meaning to ask you," Kathryn quietly spoke, "why Einstein."

Chakotay chuckled. "That was all Edgar. He's really into science and he's very good at it."

"I knew I liked that kid."

"Now I'm going to flip the question, why Amelia?"

"Amelia Earhart," Kathryn smirked.

"I would never have guessed that."

"You could say she was a childhood hero of mine."

Chakotay took a long sip of his drink. "I feel we've been jumping from topic to topic, yet you never told me about your students. High school?"

"Nope. Guess again." Kathryn waggled her eyebrow.

"Middle school?"

"Cold."

"I doubt elementary school kids are emailing you about their grades?"

Kathryn giggled. "Do you want me to tell you or do you want to keep guessing?"

"I'll keep guessing." Chakotay pouted his lips in thought. "Since it's not high school…college?"

Kathryn just smiled and didn't say a word.

"So are you a professor?" Chakotay continued since Kathryn wasn't helping.

"Well, technically assistant professor, but yes."

"That is really amazing. Where at?"

"Caltech."

Chakotay blinked a couple of times and gently moved his head from side to side. "Kathryn, that is truly impressive. You blow me away."

Kathryn seemed taken aback. "Thank you. I don't think I've ever met someone that was _that_ impressed with what I do."

"Then you are not meeting the right people."

Kathryn smiled. "Okay, now it's your turn."

"For what?"

"To tell me what you do."

"Oh. I'm definitely not showing my intelligence, am I?"

"We'll just pretend you're still traumatized by the coffee burns."

"Sounds good." Chakotay laughed. "I work at the Autry."

"The museum by the zoo?"

"That exact one. I started off at the Southwest Museum but that was eventually taken over by the Autry foundation when it fell into a financial crisis."

"I remember reading about that." Kathryn softly said, more to herself than to Chakotay.

"If you ever have some free time and can pull yourself away from your students, feel free to visit. I can give you a private tour."

"I would love that. I've actually never been."

"Even better. My schedule is flexible. Just let me know when."

The patio lights flicked on as the sensors detected the dimming sunlight. Kathryn checked the time on her phone. "Oh, we've been here for over two hours."

Chakotay blanched. "I just dawned on me that my car is still in the parking structure at the shelter. Don't they close at six?"

"You should be fine. There are training classes until nine today."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"I'm holding you to that, Professor Janeway."

"Oh, stop." Kathryn pretended to be annoyed. "We should head back, though."

/\/\

The walk back felt much shorter than the earlier one, mainly for the reason they were busy chattering away. When they reached the shelter's gate, they both stopped.

"Let me drive you to your car, Kathryn. It's getting late."

"Thank you, but I'll be fine. There's still some light out and my car isn't that far. Just a block over."

Chakotay sighed. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Plus, I have a guard dog." They both glanced at Amelia who was busy trying to catch a fly with her mouth.

Chakotay reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He searched through it and found one of his business cards and handed it to Kathryn. "Just so I can have some peace of mind, can you please call me, or text, whichever you prefer, when you get home."

She took the card and couldn't help feeling overwhelmed by his sincere concern. "Well, I guess it's good night for now. Oh, and thank you for my coffee."

"Any time."

They both awkwardly stood in front of the other. They both appeared to be sizing up the situation and trying to determine if they should walk away or shake hands.

Kathryn took the first step and began to stretch out her hand to shake his when she was gently engulfed by Chakotay's large figure. She fit perfectly under his chin. He felt warm and strong and she decided she wanted to stay there forever. She returned the hug and they both slowly let go.

"Have a good night, Kathryn."

"You too." She waved at him before she turned around. A grin slowly spread across her face as she walked down the sidewalk toward her car.

[TBC]


	7. Chapter 7

"Knock! Knock!" Tom bellowed.

"Come in, Paris." Chakotay didn't bother glancing away from his computer since he already knew who was standing in the doorway of his office.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"Because you're the only person that says 'knock, knock' while actually knocking on the door. Why do you do that anyway?" Chakotay glimpsed at Tom over his reading glasses and quickly returned his attention to the monitor.

"I don't know. To annoy you, I guess."

"Thanks," Chakotay deadpanned.

Tom stepped into the office and meandered in front of Chakotay's desk. "So, I have two problems."

"Okay."

"One is official. One is not."

Chakotay leaned back in his chair and rubbed his face with one hand, leaving his glasses askew. "Is the official one is work related?"

"Yes, sir."

"All right, start with that one." He adjusted his glasses and refocused his attention to his computer screen.

Tom took a seat in one of the chairs situated in front of the desk. "So you know how we acquired a couple of new items for the pop culture exhibit-"

"Uh-huh." Chakotay monotonously responded as he quickly checked his iPhone.

"And the museum plans to renovate the exhibit within the year."

"Yeah."

"Well, Maxine wanted me to come up with ideas on how to make the space a bit more interesting and modern, but she's on vacation for the next two weeks-"

"Mmm-hmm." Chakotay peeked at his phone again and when he noticed nothing new he continued to type away at his keyboard.

"So I was thinking we could build a couple of robots, you know those really realistic ones like the cylons in _Battlestar Galactica_ and have them give tours of the exhibit. Hopefully they won't turn on us."

"Sounds goo- wait, what?!" Chakotay finally took his eyes away from the screen and frowned at Tom.

"I just wanted to see if you were listening," Tom grinned. "I can come back later if you're busy. I don't mind."

"No, it's fine. I'm just…distracted."

"I can see that. The moment I saw you check your phone twice in a matter of seconds I knew something was up."

Chakotay chuckled. "That noticeable?"

"Well, yeah. I mean you usually keep your phone in your desk drawer. Heck, how many times have you left it in your car? So what's up?"

Chakotay removed his glasses and studied Tom, debating what he should and shouldn't tell him.

It was hard to believe that a little over two years ago, Chakotay could barely stand the sight of him. It had deeply bothered Chakotay that Tom's father was able to pull a few strings to get him a position he didn't deserve nor had he worked hard to get. In Chakotay's eyes, Tom was the symbol of privilege: coasting through life, screwing up, and then having someone else fix it. But once they actually began to work together, Chakotay discovered Tom was smart, kind, and an extremely hard worker; he had just fallen into bad situations where he had become essentially non-hirable anywhere else. And now Chakotay considered him a close friend.

"I need your opinion on something." Chakotay turned the thin monitor to face Tom. "What do you think?"

"I don't understand." Tom slowly said as he examined the display. "It's a coffee shop. Are we building a coffee shop at the museum?" He paused. "We already have the café, though."

Chakotay smiled. "No, we aren't. I mean, what do you think environment wise. Would you want to go there?"

"I suppose," Tom shrugged. "It seems much swankier than a Starbucks or Coffee Bean."

"That's what I thought, too." Chakotay turned the monitor back to himself and continued to blankly stare at the screen.

"Okay, Big Man, you need to explain yourself because I'm still not getting it. You're not much a coffee drinker, so what is this all about?"

"I just, you know, wanted to take someone there."

"Oh, Seska?" Tom batted his eyelashes.

Chakotay adjusted his posture on the chair, not out of physical discomfort but more of a discomfort regarding the subject. "No, not her."

Tom gasped and leaned forward in his seat, whispering, "Did you guys break up? I haven't heard you mention her lately."

"No, we haven't broken up. She's in New York for work. She'll be home tomorrow."

"All right. So if it's not Seska then who?"

"Just a friend."

"Is this _just a friend_ the reason you keep checking your phone?"

Chakotay glanced at his phone at the mere mention of the device. He rubbed his eyes and took his time to formulate his response. "I met her at the shelter on Saturday."

"What shelter?"

"The animal shelter. I adopted a dog."

Tom raised both hands in surprised. "What?! You got a dog and you didn't say anything?"

"I don't know. I didn't think I had to announce it to everyone. And it's mostly for Edgar's sake anyway."

"Yeah, but still." Tom shook his head in frustration. "We can discuss the dog later, go on."

Chakotay couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, I met her on Saturday. She adopted my dog's sister. And we just happen to run into each other before our puppy training class yesterday. Then we had coffee."

Tom closed his eyes and scrunched his face as if trying to process all the information bit by bit. "So, let me get this straight. You run into each other at the shelter, you both adopt dogs that are siblings, and then you happen to have the same training class without planning it?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"This is exactly like one of those Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan movies but I have a front row seat."

"Oh, shut up, Paris!" Chakotay threw his pen at Tom which he swiftly dodged.

Tom laughed but his mood quickly became somber. "No, but real talk. It's great that you hit it off with… what's her name?"

"Kathryn," Chakotay supplied.

"With Kathryn. Just becareful. Seska is still in the picture and she's been in the picture for many years now. You don't want feelings to get hurt, you know. And you don't want to be _that_ guy, either. You're better than that."

"Tom, we just had coffee. Nothing else."

"You say that but when was the last time you Googled a place to take Seska and were so concerned if she would like it or not."

Chakotay pursed his lips as he tapped his fingers on his desk. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"I don't want to be a wet blanket _especially_ when you looked so happy coming into work this morning. I don't think I've ever seen you that cheery before. Now I know why."

"Did I really?"

"Yeah, you were one step away from breaking into dance and song. And I wasn't the only one to notice." Tom paused. "All I'm saying is that you need to end something first before starting something new. Just dropping some truth bombs, that's all."

Chakotay considered his words. "Thanks, Tom. I appreciate your sincerity."

"No problem, man. Anytime."

Tom got up to leave but Chakotay stopped him. "Hey, didn't you have some unofficial problem or something like that."

"Oh, right. The caterer cancelled for the engagement party-"

"Isn't that only three weeks away?"

"It is and that's why B'Elanna and I are panicking. Well, she was angry at first, now she's panicking.

"Did the caterer survive the wrath of B'Elanna Torres?"

"Barely." Tom laughed. "Anyway, I know you said Sekaya owns a restaurant, I thought I would ask her if she could possibly cater. I know it's so last minute but everyone else is booked."

"You do know she only cooks vegetarian food, right? You can't have your maple glazed bacon or pepperoni pizza bites."

"I don't care as long as it's food. Plus, I can have cheese pizza bites." Tom waggled his eyebrows and grinned. "So, may I please have her contact information? Please!" He dramatically clasped his hands in a begging motion.

"I'll text it to you later. I'll also give her a heads up."

"Thanks, buddy. You're a life saver"

As soon as Tom left his office, Chakotay picked up his phone. He had left it open to the handful of messages Kathryn had sent him the previous night. He stared at the phone and then at the image of the coffee shop on his computer screen. He started to compose a message and then deleted it. He began again, but changed the wording to make it sound a tad more casual but then deleted it. The charade went on for over ten minutes until he finally settled on- 'Kathryn, if you aren't busy on Saturday afternoon, it would be great to have the dogs meet up to play. We can grab some coffee afterward. Let me know.' He studied the text and was about to hit send when Tom's warning words drifted into his mind. _You don't want to be_ that _guy._ After a moment of further thought, Chakotay deleted the message he had so carefully written and placed his phone in his desk drawer.

/\/\

Kathryn sat in her office alone lost in thought, trying very hard not to think of the day before. Her teacher's assistant had gone off to buy them both some coffee to get them through the rest of the day. The broken Keurig had been a total loss and had been dumped at the nearest recycling center on Monday morning. Kathryn gazed at the empty spot on the shelf, mourning the loss of her closest companion.

"I can bring my old coffeemaker from home if you like?"

Lost in reverie, the sound of Harry's voice made her jump. "No, that's all right. I've been meaning to buy a new one. Just forgot."

He handed her the cup of coffee. "Kathryn Janeway forgot something. I think I'm going to mark this down on my calendar."

She jokingly glared at him. "Oh, stop it, Mr. Kim. I forget things, too, you know."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to tease. I know you're going through a lot right now." He sat down on the couch by Kathryn's desk and opened his laptop to finish some work.

Kathryn had told him about her divorce. She had kept it a secret from mostly everyone else but she figured he needed to know. Her current distraction wasn't about that, though, it was related to the wonderful time she had the evening before. Not until she had arrived home and had time to analyze their meeting did she realize Chakotay never mentioned his girlfriend. Well, it's not like she had mentioned her divorce either, but that was a slightly touchier subject. The mysterious girlfriend was just something that kept popping into her mind from time to time and she couldn't completely ignore.

"You know, I'm going to order a new coffee maker now since it seems no one is showing up for office hours."

Harry laughed. "They're all waiting for the day before the final to come begging for help."

Kathryn sighed. "Have you seen my phone?"

"I think you put it back in your purse after lecture."

"Oh, that's right. Thanks."

She pulled out her phone and was going to the Amazon app when temptation got the best of her. She let her finger wander to the messages icon and click on the button. She thought about sending Chakotay a simple 'Hello' when she noticed a grey bubble with three tiny dots on the lower left of the screen. The bubble disappeared and then reappeared. Kathryn furrowed her brows as she continued to watch the vanishing act.

"Um, Harry, you know those three dots that pop up in messages on an iPhone?"

"Yeah?" He answered without looking up.

"What exactly does that mean?"

He stopped typing and glanced at Kathryn. "Just that someone is typing on the other end. The dots go away when the other person stops typing or the message is sent."

"Okay, that's what I thought."

Kathryn continued to watch the dots appear and disappear for several minutes. The dots eventually stopped popping up on the screen and Kathryn was disappointed to realize a message didn't either.

/\/\

On the drive home Kathryn kept wondering about the text that never appeared. Could it have been a simple glitch? Or had Chakotay simply decided not to send whatever it was he had been typing at length. It was a puzzle that was going to remain unsolved because she was never going to ask him about it.

As she pulled up to her house, she noticed someone was outside the house with the red door across the street. She had been meaning to head over and thank Annika for the wine for several days but kept putting it off. Even though she was thankful for the caring gesture she couldn't also help feel a bit awkward by the act.

She sat in her car for a moment and studied the person in the front yard from her side view mirror. It was definitely the elderly lady she had seen a few times before.

"What the hell. Let's get this over with," Kathryn muttered under her breath.

She got out of the car and crossed the street. The lady's back was toward Kathryn and didn't see her approached.

"Hi! I'm Kathryn Janeway. I'm your neighbor from across the street," Kathryn said from the sidewalk, smiling.

The elderly lady didn't turn around and made no acknowledgement she even knew someone else was in the vicinity. Kathryn figured she just hadn't heard her and took a several steps closer to her.

This time Kathryn yelled as she waved her hand to get the ladies attention. "Hi! I'm Kathryn Janeway!"

The elderly woman slowly turned to face Kathryn. "Oh, I'm sorry, dear. Have you been standing there long?"

"No, no. I just crossed the street. I live over there." Kathryn pointed toward her house.

The woman moved closer to Kathryn. "I left my hearing aids inside. Nasty habit I have. You said you live over there?" She pointed to Kathryn's house.

"I do. I was wondering if you're Annika?"

"Oh, no. Annika is my niece. I'm Irene Hansen. It's nice meeting you…Kathryn, right?"

"Yes, Kathryn. It's a pleasure to meet you too, Irene." She gently shook the lady's hand.

"Annika isn't here at the moment. She'll probably be home really late tonight. Is there something I can help you with?"

Kathryn gently shook her head. "No, it's fine. Annika left a bottle of wine on my porch a couple of days ago and I just wanted to thank her for it."

"Oh, right, she mentioned something about that. I'll definitely let her know. Actually, I'll leave her a note because I'll probably forget otherwise," Irene chuckled. "Old age, gotta love it."

Kathryn laughed. "Well, I better get going. I have a hungry dog to feed. Nice to finally meet you."

"Likewise, dear. Don't be a stranger from now on." Irene yelled as Kathryn made her way home.

"I won't."

"Have a good night."

"You too."

Kathryn walked inside her house and made her way to the kitchen. _That wasn't so bad_. She looked down to find Amelia patiently waiting by her dish.

[TBC]


	8. Chapter 8

_Kathryn quietly paced around the bathroom with her hands on her hips. The instructions on the box stated the results would be ready in about three minutes, but three minutes was feeling like a lifetime. She picked up the cardboard box from the counter and reread the instructions hoping they would distract her momentarily. They didn't, they just made her feel worse. She set the box down again and continued to pace._

 _She checked the timer on her phone to realize only one minute had elapsed. She rolled her eyes. Patience wasn't one of her virtues. She thought of all the things she could be doing to keep herself preoccupied but she couldn't bring herself to leave the bathroom. She had been through a lot of challenging moments in her life, but this was by far the most nerve inducing and possibly the most life changing._

 _Kathryn sat down on the edge of the bathtub hoping that sitting down would calm her nerves a bit. The pacing was definitely not helping her or the tile floor. She went over the calculations in her head one more time and unfortunately, everything was adding up._

 _She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. If this would have been happening a year or two ago, she would have been thrilled. But now, well now, everything was different._

 _A few months prior, Mark had been offered a visiting lecturer position at UC Berkeley during their Spring Quarter. It was a big step up from his current gig at the local community college, even if it was just a temporary one. He hoped it would pave the way to bigger and better things._

 _They had discussed the pros and cons at length. He would only be gone for about twelve weeks which wasn't a detrimental amount of time apart. Kathryn felt it was a great step for his career and hadn't objected to the idea. In fact, she highly encouraged him to accept the offer. He had promised to make it home every weekend since it was less than a two hour plane ride home. But his promise hadn't panned out and he had return less than a handful of times._

 _At first, Kathryn missed him but she slowly came to the realization that she didn't miss him, per se, she just missed having someone around. But it was a void that was easily filled by someone, or something, else. Their phone conversations became increasingly less interesting and frequent and they went days with only a simple text here and there. And somewhere along the way Kathryn came to the conclusion that she loved him but wasn't_ in _love with him. He had been the childhood friend, the safe choice, and the love and desire from years before had burned and fizzled._

 _Mark had called her earlier that morning, while she was at the drug store, to wish her a wonderful birthday and to also regrettably inform her that he would not be able to make it home this weekend to celebrate. He had been invited to a department function and thought it was a great opportunity to network. He apologized greatly but deep down Kathryn didn't care. In fact, she almost felt relieved she didn't have to see him._

 _Kathryn glimpsed at the pregnancy test that mocked her so coldly. A simple slipup- fueled by too much wine, a heated argument, and an attempt to prove to herself that she was wrong about their marriage- was now causing her unbelievable distress._

 _She stood up again and began to pace but didn't get very far before the timer went off. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and picked up the offending plastic stick._

 _Regardless of the results, Kathryn knew it wouldn't change how she felt about Mark and the decision she had already made regarding their marriage._

 _She opened her eyes and read the results. Kathryn let out a sigh of relief- she had never been so happy to fail a test before in her life._

/\/\

Kathryn rolled around in bed trying to fall asleep but the nagging thoughts going through her mind were keeping her awake. She had been tossing and turning for hours now. She blamed Mark's well-meaning birthday text the day before for resurfacing the carefully sealed memories. Her mind kept going back to the moment from a year ago that she never told Mark about it. She couldn't help but wonder how things would have been now if those results would have come back differently.

She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling in the darkened room. Funny how all this time had passed and they still weren't divorced. They had just taken too much time to get the ball rolling.

When Mark had returned from up North, he convinced her to try couples' therapy. He was certain the time apart had caused a rift between them. Now that he was home everything would improve and counseling would help them reconnect. But it hadn't. And when Berkeley had offered him another visiting position for Fall Quarter, they both knew it was over for good. She wasn't going to stand in the way of his dreams and he wasn't going to make her stay in something she wasn't happy with.

She readjusted her pillows and turned to her side. She had left a window slightly open when she had gone to bed and the cool morning breeze was making her shiver even under the covers.

Her six a.m. alarm went off and she reached over to her nightstand to turn it off. She didn't know why she had set the alarm when she had nowhere to be today or the weekend for that matter. She had gracefully declined lunch or dinner offers from colleagues or friends and thanked the heavens Phoebe was out of town for several days. Phoebe always liked to make a big hoopla of things. This year she just wanted to be alone.

She was about to roll over again when she saw Amelia sitting by the side of her bed wagging her tail.

"Hi, girl," Kathryn hoarsely said. She reached down and scratched the puppy behind the ear. As soon as Kathryn stopped, Amelia moved closer to the bed and stood on her hind legs with her paws on the mattress.

"Sweetie, dogs aren't allowed on the bed. Your bed is over there." Kathryn pointed to the big cushioned bed in the corner of the room.

Kathryn stopped to think. That had never been her rule. That had been Mark's rule. He always said he could never have a good night's sleep with a dog on the bed.

"You know what, screw that! It's a stupid rule anyway." Kathryn reached down and tried pulling the puppy into bed with her, but quickly noticed that would be impossible to do with the ever growing pup.

She climbed out of the bed and picked up the puppy. "Oh, geez, you're so much heavier than a week ago." She carefully set Amelia down on the bed and got back in between the blankets. The puppy clumsily climbed over her until she settled down by the side of Kathryn's stomach. Kathryn reached over and caressed the dog's head as she licked her paw. She could feel the puppy's body warmth between the covers which was oddly comforting to her. Within minutes they were both fast asleep.

/\/\

"Chakotay!"

Chakotay stirred in bed at what he thought was the sound of his name but didn't bother opening his eyes. He was in the middle of a pleasant dream and wanted to continue with that.

"Damn it! Chakotay!"

This time Chakotay heard the yells coming from downstairs and could hear footsteps running of up the stairs and down the hallway. He opened his eyes just in time to see Seska storming into the bedroom in a fury.

"Chakotay!"

"What?" He groggily managed. He glanced over at the clock to see that it was a little past six in the morning.

Seska stood in front of the bed with one hand on her hip while the other held something he couldn't quite make out. "You want to know what your stupid dog did?"

"Don't call him stupid."

"I'm going to call him stupid because that's what he is!"

"Seska, stop. It's too early for this."

"No! I'm not going to stop! Look! What! He! Did!" She tossed something onto the bed which landed mere inches from Chakotay's head.

"Watch it!" Chakotay was now fully awake and sitting up in bed. He picked up and examined what Seska had thrown. "It's a shoe."

"Correction, a _chewed up_ shoe. _And_ not just any shoe. It's a freaking Louboutin!"

"That means nothing to me, Seska."

"That's so typical of you, Chakotay. If it doesn't concern you, you don't care!" She stomped into the bathroom.

Chakotay got out of bed and followed her. "Hey! That's not fair! Just because you're pissed doesn't mean you have to be an ass!"

Seska pushed him aside as she walked out of the bathroom. "I'm pissed because of that dog! That damn dog has been a nightmare since I got home. Why did you get a dog, Chakotay?! Why?! Just because your nephew asked you to?"

"He didn't ask. I offered."

"Sure! Tell yourself that. When he asks for a car are you going to buy him a Mercedes?" She walked into the closet and walked out with a different pair of shoes and sat on the bed to put them on.

"You're being unfair," Chakotay calmly stated

"Am I, Chakotay? Am I? My stuff is being chewed up. This little shoe detour is probably going to make me catch extra traffic on the One Ten. You know how shitty the freeway can be going toward downtown at this hour. And this-" she slid her hand over the nightstand, "dog hair everywhere!"

"That's dust, not dog hair."

Seska glared at Chakotay. "Do you think this is funny? Because I don't."

"I don't think it's funny. I just think you're being unreasonable."

Seska made her way out of the room and yelled behind her. "I'm not being unreasonable. I shouldn't have to be dealing with this in _my_ house."

Chakotay watched Seska walk down the hallway from the bedroom doorway and quietly said, "Your house, huh?"

Seska stopped at the top of the steps and turned around, her shoulders visible sagged. "I didn't mean that. It's our house. You know that."

"No, you make the big bucks. It's your house and I just live in it."

"Chakotay, I'm pissed and I didn't mean it, okay? Can we let it go?"

"Fine, whatever."

"Okay, now who is being an ass?" Seska scowled.

"Just leave."

"Fine!" Seska rolled her eyes and stalked down the steps. "I won't be home until Sunday, by the way. Spa weekend with the girls," she shouted, before slamming the door on her way out.

It took all of Chakotay's effort not to punch the wall or yell at the top of his lungs. He hated how Seska reacted to situations, especially when they were such minor inconveniences.

Chakotay was about to go back to the bedroom to shower and change when he realized he hadn't seen or heard Einstein. The puppy usually greeted him at the bottom of the steps when he heard Chakotay get up.

Chakotay walked down the steps and saw the dog wasn't in his bed. He called out to him but he didn't appear. He wandered throughout the rest of the house looking for the puppy in his normal hangouts. He eventually checked the downstairs restroom and found Einstein huddled between the toilet and the bathroom sink.

"There you are," Chakotay calmly said, as he reached out to the pup. Einstein whimpered and moved further away. Chakotay frowned. "It's ok, it's all over. No more fighting."

Chakotay kneeled beside the pup and stretched out his hand allowing the puppy to come to him on his own. "Come on, boy. Let's get some food, okay?" The puppy slowly relaxed and moved a bit closer to Chakotay. He eventually moved close enough for Chakotay to rub his back.

"You're okay," Chakotay reassured him as he picked the dog up. "You're safe with me."

/\/\

Kathryn slowly opened her eyes when she thought she heard her phone make noise. She picked it up from the night stand and noticed it was a little past ten. Her eyes widened in shock but she quickly pushed the feelings of guilt aside. She was tired and needed sleep. She didn't have anything to do today so there was nothing wrong with sleeping in.

She unlocked her phone and was surprised to find she had a text message from Chakotay. She hadn't heard from him since Monday and as much as she wanted to, she refrained from texting him, especially after the odd incident on Tuesday. She just assumed she would see him again at the next training class.

She smiled as she read the message. 'Kathryn, Einstein wanted me to ask you if it would be possible to have a play date with his sister this weekend. He really needs it. But that's only if she isn't busy. Also, if you don't have plans, you are welcome to join us as well. Let us know."

Kathryn giggled at the silliness of the text and quickly replied. 'Chakotay, Please let Einstein know that Amelia has checked her schedule and she is indeed available. Also, her human has no plans. Let us know the time and place and we will be there. Thank you for the invite."

Kathryn felt energized as she crawled out of bed. She left a sleeping Amelia in between the sheets, grabbed her phone in case Chakotay texted back, and headed to the kitchen to make coffee. She definitely had a new positive outlook for the weekend.

[TBC]


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Once again, thank you for the kind reviews. Much appreciated.

* * *

"All right, kid. Do you want to take care of Einstein or get the picnic basket from the back?"

Edgar looked over at his uncle. "Duh, Einstein."

"Of course." Chakotay reached over and rubbed the child's head, leaving his hair pointing in every direction.

They both stepped out of the car into the parking lot. Chakotay headed for the cargo area of his SUV to retrieve the food while Edgar pulled the dog out from the back seat.

"Can I go play with him, Uncle Chakotay?"

"Sure, just don't go too far. And keep a tight grip on his leash, he's getting really strong."

Edgar was already half way down the grass and yelled, "Okay!"

Chakotay grabbed all the items he brought and locked his car. He surveyed the park and spotted a robust tree in the distance. It appeared to be the only tree in the immediate area that hadn't become a victim of the drought and still provided enough shade.

As he walked toward the tree, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. When he reached the shaded area, he set down his things and checked his phone. It was a message from Kathryn.

 _Do you want some iced green tea? I'm getting coffee. I'll be there soon._

Chakotay smiled at the text and replied. _I'm fine. Thank you though. We'll be waiting._

He put his phone back in his pocket and spotted Edgar in the distance running around in large circles with the dog. Chakotay unrolled the blanket under the tree and took a moment to examine it. He realized the blanket seemed too small to accommodate three people. He figured Edgar would probably spend most of his time playing with the puppies; he just didn't want Kathryn to get the wrong impression.

He set the picnic basket, small cooler, and tote bag to the side and sat down with his back leaning against the tree. He pulled out a sparkling water from the cooler and took a big drink. It was already pleasantly warm outside and it wasn't even noon yet. He surveyed the park and noted not many people were around for a Sunday morning.

Chakotay heard the leaves rustling, as a couple of them fell from above and landed on his lap. He looked up and spotted a squirrel jumping from branch to branch, stopping every now and then to glare at him and twitch his tail. "Easy buddy, I don't want to fight."

"Fight who?"

Chakotay jumped to his feet at the sound of Kathryn's voice. "I didn't hear you coming."

Kathryn was smiling. "Well, of course not. You were too busy picking fights with," she looked up at the tree, "squirrels."

"Squirrel. It's just one."

Kathryn laughed at him. "Like that's any better."

Chakotay rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and sheepishly chuckled. "So, uh, where did you park? I was expecting you from that direction." He gestured toward the area where he parked his car.

"Oh, further down that way." She pointed with her head behind her. "That's where the GPS sent me. I was about to text you but I spotted Edgar with Einstein and eventually saw you."

"Well, I'm glad you made it." He paused for a minute. "I see you have iced coffee today."

Kathryn giggled. "Yeah, it was a tad too warm to have hot coffee. Plus, I already had a couple cups at home."

Before Chakotay could come back with a witty retort, Edgar came running toward them with Einstein leading the way.

"Hi, Kathryn!"

Kathryn waved at him. "Hi! How do you like having a dog?"

"It's fantastic!" He said between breaths.

Edgar was flushed and sweaty. Chakotay opened the cooler, pulled out a bottle of water and handed it to the boy. "Here drink this. I don't want you to get heat stroke because your mom will execute me."

Edgar handed the leash to Chakotay with one hand and grasped the water bottle with the other. "Mom wouldn't do that."

"Well, I don't want to test my theory so drink up."

Amelia and Einstein were bouncing around each other as if they were happy to see the other again. They wandered the area smelling the blanket and the surrounding grass. They made their way to the picnic basket when both dogs' ears perked up and they bolted toward the tree. They had spotted the squirrel running around the trunk of the tree.

The puppy's sudden jolt caused Kathryn to lose her balance, making her unintentionally let go of Amelia's leash. She was falling forward but Chakotay's quick reaction impeded her from hitting the ground. Their bodies smashed together but he was strong enough to take the impact and get her back to her feet.

"Are you okay?" Chakotay asked the moment he was able to catch his breath. He noticed his right hand had landed on her backside and immediately moved it higher up her back. He could feel her shaking in his arms and thought she might have gotten injured in the stumble. He tried to get a glimpse of her face to determine if she was hurt but her forehead was pushed against his chest. "Kathryn, talk to me. Are you okay?

Kathryn slowly lifted her head and Chakotay realized she was shaking from holding in her laughter. She finally let out a loud giggle. "What is it with us and coffee disasters?"

Chakotay was confused until she stepped back and began to laugh along with her. Her white V-neck tee and part of her jeans were completely doused in coffee. Chakotay looked down at his shirt and noticed he hadn't been spared, but it was nothing compared to Kathryn's top.

"I'm so sorry, Chakotay," she managed to say between laughs. She shook her arms to dry them off and then tried unsticking the wet material from her body.

He had to force himself not to stare at Kathryn. The material clinging to her body was leaving very little to the imagination. "Don't be. It wasn't your fault," Chakotay eventually muttered.

As a distraction, he looked over at Edgar who had been able to get control of the dogs. He was looking at them with a dorky smile on his face. Chakotay pulled out a ball from the bag and tossed it to Edgar. "Why don't you go play with them while we get this," he waved his hand over the area, "under control."

"Okay." Edgar grinned and ran off with the dogs in tow.

Kathryn had managed to get her laugher somewhat under control. "This is terrible," she giggled, as she looked down at her shirt. "This was probably the worst top I could have worn today."

Chakotay was still not looking at Kathryn. "Um, I think I have some napkins around here somewhere." He found them and handed some to her.

"As much as I love coffee I don't particularly like to smell like it." She took the napkins and wiped her arms dry. She then started to dab at the wet material and sighed, "This is useless. Maybe I should just go home."

"It's not that bad," Chakotay mumbled, avoiding eye contact with her.

"Chakotay, my shirt is practically see-through! I'm sure you've noticed because you can't even look in my direction."

"I was trying not to…" He paused and snapped his fingers. "Hey, I just remembered I picked up my dry cleaning on our way here. You could borrow one of my dress shirts."

"Oh, no. That's fine. I don't want to get it dirty."

"It's all right. No worries. It would just be a shame for you to have to leave over this."

"Well, if you don't mind."

"I definitely don't. I'll be right back." Chakotay jogged to his car and quickly went through the shirts hanging in his back seat, wondering which one would look better on her. _What are you doing? Just pick one._ He settled on a light blue shirt and removed it from the plastic wrapping.

He hastily walked back and handed it to Kathryn. "There's a restroom right by the parking lot where you can change."

"Oh, I thought I would change right here."

"Chakotay visibly swallowed. "I...uh-"

"Just a joke," Kathryn teased. "I'll be right back."

Chakotay nervously chuckled. "Okay."

He wanted to watch her walk away but instead busied himself fixing up the area. He needed a moment to calm himself. He picked up the now crushed cup of coffee. He was surprised to find some liquid still inside the container considering the amount of coffee that had landed on Kathryn. Ice cubes were strewn all over the grass and the lid was nowhere to be seen, probably a victim of the breeze.

He stopped fiddling with things for a second and exhaled. He always felt like a silly teenager around Kathryn. Whenever a situation became uncomfortable he turned into a bumbling fool. He knew there was an attraction between them and he was certain Kathryn felt it too, so that was partially to blame. But deep down he also felt a tad guilty for never mentioning Seska to her and vice versa. And then his mind wandered to the conversation he had with Tom on Friday.

/\/\

 _Tom poked his head into Chakotay's office. "Hey, you want to get lunch if you haven't already?"_

 _Chakotay looked up from a pile of paperwork. "What time is it?"_

 _"_ _Almost two."_

 _"_ _Oh… yeah. I didn't realize it was so late."_

 _Tom frowned and stepped into the room. "You okay, man? You seem… off. Not the same chipper guy from a couple days ago."_

 _Chakotay stood up and grabbed his phone from the drawer. "I'm okay. I had an argument with Seska this morning."_

 _"_ _Oh," Tom silently said. As Chakotay got closer, Tom whispered, "So did you two break up?"_

 _Chakotay chuckled. "Why do you always ask that in the same tone?"_

 _Tom shrugged. "I don't know. I guess that's my gossipy voice. So did you?"_

 _Chakotay shook his head, "Nope. But if she hadn't left for work I'm sure that's where it would have ended."_

 _"_ _Yikes! That bad?"_

 _"_ _Yup."_

 _"_ _Do you want to go to the museum café or somewhere else?" Tom asked._

 _"_ _The café is fine. I don't feel like driving anywhere right now."_

 _"_ _Ditto."_

 _They walked to the café in silence. They ordered their food and found a table on the patio that was away from most of the museum's noise._

 _"_ _So," Tom finally said after he took a bite of his sandwich, "what did you argue about. That's if you don't mind talking about it."_

 _"_ _Einstein."_

 _"_ _Does she not believe in the theory of relativity?"_

 _Chakotay choked on his food as he laughed. "Geez, Tom, I feel that should have been followed by a rimshot."_

 _Tom chuckled. "Sorry, it was just too easy. Go on."_

 _"_ _Einstein chewed up one of her designer shoes and she was extremely mad."_

 _"_ _Ouch."_

 _"_ _Yeah. Then she went on about how she hates the dog and then she brought up the 'my house' thing again."_

 _"_ _Didn't she inherit the house?" Tom inquired, as he pulled open his bag of chips._

 _"_ _She did. And it's not like I'm mooching off of her. I pay bills, too. She just likes to hold that over me for some reason. Usually the jabs are indirect but today she topped herself."_

 _Tom swallowed his food and paused for a moment. "Okay, don't get mad, and I'm sure B'Elanna gets this question about me all the time, but why are you with her?"_

 _Chakotay pursed his lips while he slowly peeled the label off his water bottle. "I've been asking myself the same question all day. I don't know. Convenience, I guess."_

 _"_ _But you aren't happy."_

 _"_ _I texted her, Tom."_

 _Tom stopped with a chip halfway toward his mouth. "Huh?"_

 _"_ _I texted Kathryn to see if she wanted to meet up with the dogs this weekend."_

 _"_ _Oh."_

 _"_ _I don't feel bad that I texted her. I just feel bad that I did it because I was mad at Seska."_

 _"_ _It's like you're starring in a soap opera. I don't know what to tell you. I guess, just figure it out before it gets complicated."_

/\/\

"Doesn't look too bad, does it?"

Chakotay turned around to see Kathryn approaching. She had tied the front ends of the shirt in a knot at her waist and rolled up the sleeves to her elbows. "It actually doesn't."

"I like it. It's very roomy in here." She smiled.

Chakotay chuckled. "Why don't you sit? Are you hungry? There's plenty of food."

"I wish you would have told me we were having a picnic. I would have brought something."

"To be honest, I didn't know either. My sister packed up the food and dropped it off, along with Edgar, this morning."

"That's very nice of her. Tell her thank you on my behalf."

Chakotay briefly hesitated. "I will."

Chakotay had made every effort to keep the amount of time he spent with Kathryn a secret from Sekaya. He knew how Sekaya could meddle in his life and she wouldn't stop harassing him until he provided her with every detail of every encounter with Kathryn. He assumed Edgar may have mentioned Kathryn to his mom after they met at the shelter, but most likely had provided a truncated version of events.

"I wish I had that much energy?"

Chakotay glanced up and realized what Kathryn was referring to. "Oh, Edgar?"

"Yeah, he's been running around this whole time and he doesn't seem tired. To be a kid again," she sighed.

"No kidding. No responsibilities, summer vacations, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch-"

"Excuse me, but I still enjoy a PB&J sandwich for lunch."

"You're joking."

"Am not." Kathryn grinned.

Chakotay pulled out a plastic container from the picnic basket. "Well, you're in luck because Sekaya packed a PB&J. I'm sure it's meant for Edgar but I don't think he'll mind if you have it."

"I can't eat his sandwich!"

"You sure?"

"I'm positive."

"Just to let you know, Sekaya makes her own peanut butter and jam." He opened the container to peek inside. "And I'm pretty sure this is freshly baked bread. She usually buys it at the farmer's market."

Kathryn side-eyed Chakotay. "I can't."

"It's cut into four pieces. You can at least have one."

She sighed as she yanked a couple of blades of grass and threw them in the air "I'll just have one since you're twisting my arm."

Chakotay laughed and handed her a paper plate. He set the sandwich container on the blanket beside her. "Get as much as you want because there is a ton of food. I think Sekaya thought she was feeding an army and not a few people."

"Oh my, this sandwich is delicious. The real stuff makes a world of difference."

"Compared to the fake stuff?" Chakotay sarcastically inquired.

"You know what I mean." Kathryn rolled her eyes while taking another bite.

"If you like that one, you definitely need to try her adult PB&J, as she likes to call it, which oddly enough doesn't contain peanut butter. She uses brioche, brie cheese, and fig jam. Then she toasts it. It's absolutely delicious."

"That sounds amazing." She paused and eyed the remaining sandwich. "Would I be a terrible person if I had another piece?"

"Go ahead, there's plenty. Trust me, Edgar isn't going to miss it." Chakotay pulled out more plastic tubs from the basket and set them down. "Okay, we have hummus and pita chips, chips and salsa, cheese and crackers, assorted nuts, some veggies and," he opened the lid to figure out what was inside, "oh, and chocolate covered strawberries."

"I love those."

"Edgar is allergic to strawberries so you can have all of those."

Kathryn eyed the sandwich in her hand. "So what jam is in this? I thought it was strawberry?"

"Most likely grape."

"Really? It's so good. And to think I've been avoiding it all these years because I hated it as a child." Kathryn finished off the last piece of her sandwich. She reached for a strawberry and took a bite. "These are delicious. I don't think I've ever had a strawberry so sweet and juicy."

Chakotay was getting a kick out of watching Kathryn eat. It almost seemed as she had never had food before. As he glanced at her, he spotted some chocolate melted on the side of her lip. "You have a little bit of chocolate…" he pointed to the corner of his lip. He really wanted to reach over and wipe the chocolate away himself but instead he handed her a napkin.

"Thanks." She meekly smiled and wiped her mouth. "I'm enjoying this food too much. I normally don't have time to savor my meals so this is a nice change of pace."

They sat in silence for a while occasionally commenting on the food. Chakotay popped a couple of chips into his mouth and stood up. "I'll be right back. I'm going to check on Edgar and give him and the dogs some water. "

"Okay."

Chakotay eventually returned and sat down. "He says he's not hungry. He did drink the water at least."

"It looks like he's having the time of his life."

"Oh! I forgot to ask, do you want something to drink?"

"Sure, I'll take some water."

Chakotay reached into the canvas bag and pulled something out. "You sure you don't want some of this?!" He dangled a metal thermos in front of Kathryn. "It's coffee."

"You brought coffee?!" Kathryn's eyes glistened as she seized the thermos from Chakotay's hands.

He handed her a paper cup. "Yeah, I remembered how much you loved the stuff and made some this morning. I forgot about it until now."

Kathryn was so excited to have more coffee that she blurted out, "I could just kiss you." She quickly realized what she said and became serious. She looked away from Chakotay. "I mean…I'm not. I-"

"Kathryn? Kathryn Janeway?"

Kathryn looked up to see a man with red, curly hair approaching. "Joe! Hi! It's been so long." She stood up and Chakotay followed suit. "Chakotay, this is a former colleague of mine, Joe Carey."

"Nice to meet you." Chakotay smiled as he shook the other man's hand.

"Nice to meet you, too." Joe returned his attention to Kathryn. "So what brings you here? You're the last person I ever expected to see today."

Kathryn chuckled and pointed at the golden retrievers in the distance. "Puppy play date. I adopted one, Chakotay adopted the other. They're siblings so it's nice for them to meet up every now and then."

"That's awesome. So how's Mark. Last I heard he was going to teach at Berkeley. Did he end up going?"

Chakotay noticed that Kathryn visibly tensed but swiftly regained her composure. "He did. For Spring and Fall Quarter."

"That's great for him. He's a smart guy and deserves great things."

"Yes, he does." Kathryn forced a smile.

"Well, I better get going. I can tell the kids are anxious to leave." He started to walk away and turned around. "Maybe you and Mark can come over for dinner one of these day, like we used to do."

"Sounds great." Kathryn let out a deep breath and slowly turned to Chakotay. "Before you say anything, let me explain."

"Explain what?"

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about."

Chakotay calmly said, "Kathryn, you don't owe me any explanations."

"I know I don't, but I still want to tell you about Mark."

"Okay. Why don't we sit back down and you can enjoy your coffee and we can talk."

Kathryn nodded and sat down. "Mark is my husband. Well my soon-to-be ex-husband."

"Ahh."

"We're getting divorced and it should be finalized sometime soon. We just have a couple things to settle beforehand."

Chakotay didn't know what to say other than the typical, "I'm sorry."

Kathryn shrugged. "It's for the better, really."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better I suspected you were married."

"You did not!"

Chakotay smirked. "I saw your ring at the shelter. Then it was missing when we had coffee." He pointed at her finger, "And there's a tan line."

Kathryn was taken aback. "You are mighty observant, sir. Should I refer to you as P.I. Chakotay from now on?"

"If you like," Chakotay laughed. He took a drink and ate a couple pita chips before he added, "Now that we are on the subject I should let you know-"

"That you have a girlfriend?" Kathryn finished for him.

Chakotay frowned. "How did you know?"

"Edgar told me."

"When did he do that? You barely interacted today?"

"The day we met at the shelter."

"Oh. So you've known all this time?"

Kathryn smiled and nodded her head. "I guess we both knew more about the other than we thought."

"I guess so."

They continued to eat and drink in silence as they watched Edgar play with the dogs in the distance.

[TBC]


	10. Chapter 10

AN: Sorry for the big delay in updates. I've been really unmotivated to write lately and I was also somewhat stuck. I really didn't know where I wanted the story to go after the last chapter. :\

* * *

Ever since he had walked down the stairs this morning, the large gift bag sitting on the dining room table had been mocking him.

At first he tried to ignore the bag but managed to unintentionally catch little glimpses of it wherever he went. He could see it as he made his tea and had breakfast in the kitchen. It was in his peripheral vision while he read on the couch. And he was surprised to find out he could partially see it through the dining room window as he walked down the sidewalk with Einstein.

The bag hadn't been there the night before when he arrived home, so obviously Seska had brought it with her. He wondered what might be inside until a sudden thought occurred to him: what if the gift wasn't even for him? He didn't know Seska's plans since he hadn't spoken to her after their argument on Friday.

Chakotay stared at the bag a bit longer and figured he would take a peek. He carefully poked around the white tissue paper and realized there was an envelope tucked in between the thin sheets. The envelope wasn't sealed so he carefully removed the notecard from inside. If it wasn't for him, he would place it back exactly how he found it and go on with the rest of his day.

 _Chakotay,_

 _I'm very sorry for the way I acted the other day. I didn't mean any of it. Work has been stressful and I took it out on you and your dog. I missed you lots this weekend._

 _Forgive me?_

 _Seska_

Chakotay read the note again and set it down on the table. He knew he was going to forgive her, he pretty much already had. He always did. That was the basis of their relationship, he realized. They would fight, the guilty party would do something nice for the other, and they would forgive and forget then repeat at a later date.

Chakotay sighed and began to pull the tissue paper from the bag. He peered inside to find it full of dog treats and several toys. He pulled out each item out and placed it on the dining room table. Seska had really gone overboard. He knew Seska could be difficult to live with but she meant well in the long run. And now he felt like a jerk for having spent the night alone in the guest bedroom.

He continued to rummage through the bag and eventually found a toy that made him chuckle. It was a rubber squeaky toy in the shape of a black high heel; very similar to the one Einstein had chewed up. "Hey, buddy," Chakotay said as he tossed the toy into the living room, "this is the only shoe you're allowed to chew." Einstein, who was busy chasing his tail around in circles, stopped the moment the toy landed with a loud squeak by him. He immediately sat down and started to chew on the pseudo shoe.

Chakotay moved his attention back to the table and placed everything back in the bag. He figured he should call Seska and thank her for the thoughtful gifts. But he hesitated when he reached for his phone. Maybe he would just wait to thank her in person. Or maybe a text would suffice.

Before he could debate his options any further, his phone rang. It was Sekaya. She had already called him a few times throughout the morning and he had declined every single one. If it had been some sort of emergency, she would have left a voicemail or sent him a text like she had in the past. He simply didn't feel like chatting with her, mainly because he sensed she wanted gossip about the park. He knew exactly how she operated. He was certain she interrogated Edgar enough and now wanted to know every detail about Kathryn coming from him.

The thought of Kathryn made him smile. He was looking forward to seeing her again at their puppy training in a few hours. Maybe he would arrive a bit early and get her some coffee. He quickly nixed that idea. He didn't want to be too forward or make her feel uncomfortable in any way. They already had had a few awkward moments the day before. But they were greatly overshadowed by the wonderful time they had together. He enjoyed her company and hoped she did as well.

/\/\

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Kathryn glanced over at Chakotay as they exited the building.

Chakotay scoffed. "If you say so."

Kathryn laughed. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I think Einstein did a much better job this week than last."

"Oh, were you observing us again, Kathryn?" Chakotay feigned shock.

"It's somewhat hard not to with all the jumping and groaning going on. And that's just from the human."

Chakotay chuckled. "One thing is for sure, he's not living up to his namesake's level of genius."

They both laughed as they walked through the courtyard and Kathryn stopped in front of the elevator.

"I didn't park in the structure today," Chakotay informed her. "We went to the park for a bit before class. I thought that might calm him down but I think it had the opposite effect, though."

Kathryn tugged on Amelia's leash and walked toward the outside gate. "Any plans for the evening?"

"Not really. I was thinking of getting something to eat on my way home."

"I was going to get dinner myself. Would you like to join me?"

Internally Chakotay was screaming "Yes!" at the top of his lungs but was trying very hard to keep his composure. "Are you sure? I don't want to impose."

"Of course I'm sure. It will be my treat since you provided such a lovely picnic yesterday."

"Well, that wasn't really me."

"I know. I guess I could ask your sister to have dinner with me instead? I'm betting she has some amazing stories about teenage Chakotay," Kathryn cheekily added.

"Ha-Ha. You're such a comedian today." Kathryn merely smirked as she looked at him over one shoulder. Chakotay couldn't help how much he adored that quirky little smile of hers. "So, where did you want to go?"

"There's this little café right by the park that has pretty good food. Well, at least it used to be. I haven't been there in a while."

"And we'll be okay with these two?" Chakotay pointed at both dogs.

"There was an outdoor seating area so I don't think it will be a problem. And if that doesn't work out I'll invite you over for some of my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches." Kathryn chuckled then added, "But they won't be as good as your sister's, that's for sure."

Chakotay knew she was joking but deep down he would rather spend his evening with her at her home and not at a restaurant. Not so much that he wanted food, but he simply wanted to spend more time with her in an intimate setting. Being able to see where she lived, what books she read, or seeing childhood pictures of her could tell him more about Kathryn's life than any conversation ever could.

They walked down the sidewalk until they reached the corner. "See," Kathryn pointed out the café in the distance as they crossed the street, "it's right over there. It's pretty close."

"It is. What kind of food do they serve?"

"Um, I guess it would be classified as American cuisine? We can go somewhere else if you want something different?"

"Oh, no. That sounds fine. I was just curious."

They arrived at the café and were promptly seated in their outdoor patio by the young hostess. She handed them menus, gave them a quick rundown of their daily specials, informed them their waiter would be with them shortly and left them alone.

Kathryn looked around the patio and observed the patrons inside. "I guess we made it on time for the early bird special."

Chakotay looked up from the menu, "I guess so."

"You did bring your AARP card, right?"

"My- what?"

Kathryn stifled a laugh. She leaned in and whispered, "I think we are the youngest people here, well besides the servers."

Chakotay quickly scanned the rooms and realized Kathryn was right. "I wonder if we'll get carded?"

Kathryn chuckled but before she could add anything to the conversation, they were interrupted by their waiter.

"Hi, I'm Kevin. I'll be taking care of you two today. May I get you something to drink?"

"I'll have a glass of chardonnay and-" Kathryn looked at Chakotay.

"I'll have some iced tea."

"Sounds great. Any starters for today? The spinach artichoke dip is very popular and the calamari is incredible. It's one of my favorites."

"Calamari sounds perfect. We'll start with that."

"Sounds great." Kevin jotted the order down in his notepad and looked over at Chakotay. "Anything for you, sir?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you."

"Okay, I'll give you a couple of minutes to go over the menu. Let me know if you have any questions. I'll be right back with your drinks."

"Thank you, Kevin," they simultaneously said.

They perused their menus in silence until Kevin returned with their drinks and the order of calamari. He informed them he would be back in a few to take their order.

Kathryn took a piece of the calamari and popped one into her mouth. "Mmmmm. They're delicious. The breading is nice and light. Have some, Chakotay."

"I'm fine."

"No, I insist. You need to at least try one." Kathryn pushed the plate toward him.

Chakotay set down his menu and lowly sighed. "I'm actually a vegetarian."

"You're what?!" Kathryn exclaimed a little louder than she probably intended to.

"A vege-"

"No, no, I heard you. Sorry. I just- But yesterday you…" She furrowed her eyebrows while she stared off into the distance as if she needed to search through her memory files from the day before. "You're a vegetarian," she whispered under her breath as the realization dawned on her.

"I'm sorry. I should have mentioned it before."

"Don't be. I just didn't notice yesterday." Kathryn looked at the plate sitting in between them on the table, a face of panic setting in. "Should I get Kevin to take it away. I don't-"

Chakotay chuckled. "Kathryn, it's okay. I'm fine with it. Friends eat non-vegetarian meals around me all the time."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Kathryn rested her forehead on her hand. "I feel so embarrassed."

"Why?" Chakotay laughed.

"Because I kept insisting you try it." She dramatically gestured toward the calamari.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, here's my moment of embarrassment." He held up his menu and pointed to a section. "What does this say? I don't have my reading glasses and can't make out the fine print."

Kathryn covered her mouth, trying not to giggle. "You really do fit in with the senior crowd." She looked at her own menu and found the section Chakotay had pointed to. She read, "It's an 'apple chicken gorgonzola salad' and it comes with 'thinly sliced apples, grilled chicken seasoned to perfection, chunks of gorgonzola, candied walnuts and balsamic vinaigrette' which sounds really good actually."

"It does."

"But the chicken…"

"I'll just order it without the chicken."

"Are you sure? We should have gone somewhere else." Kathryn looked mournfully at him.

Chakotay reached over, placed his hand over hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Trust me, it's fine."

Kathryn sighed. "Okay, but next time you choose the place to eat."

Chakotay grinned at the thought of there being a next time. "Deal."

/\/\

The food was better than what Kathryn remembered it to be. Maybe it wasn't the food so much, but the company. She enjoyed spending time with Chakotay. They always had interesting conversations and she didn't feel like she had to be walking on egg shells around him like with other people, which was refreshing for once.

Kathryn leaned back in her chair and placed her hand on her belly. "That was delicious. I normally don't eat those types of salads but it was pleasantly surprising."

"Those types of salads or salads in general?" Chakotay jokingly asked.

"Be quiet. I mean salads that are a mixture of sweet and salty."

"Oh, I see."

"Do you two want to see the dessert menu?" Kevin asked as he cleared the plates.

"Kathryn, you up for some dessert?" Chakotay smiled at her from across the table.

"I'm somewhat full but it wouldn't hurt to look."

"Just so you know our most popular desserts are the tiramisu, cheesecake and the coffee-flavored cake, which is a specialty of this restaurant."

Kathryn knew her eyes lit up at the mention of coffee. She looked at Chakotay who was already chuckling at her.

"To save you some time, we'll have some of the coffee flavored cake," Chakotay told Kevin.

"Sure, I'll bring that right out. Just one?" Kevin asked.

"Do you mind sharing, Kathryn?"

"No, that sounds fine."

"Great, I'll be right back."

Kathryn picked up her glass and took the last sip of her wine. "So what are your plans for the holiday weekend?"

"I'm going camping."

"With Edgar?"

"No. Edgar is visiting his paternal grandparents in San Diego. I'm going with a work buddy and my old college roommate."

Kathryn smiled. "That sounds like an adventure."

"It usually is. It's nice to catch up with Mike. I don't see him that often now that he has two boys."

Kathryn paused for a moment. "Mike…why does that name sound familiar?"

Chakotay laughed. "Because it's the same Mike I punched when I was a kid."

"You're kidding!"

"Nope. He moved away the summer before high school. I completely forgot about him until move-in day my first year of college. There he was, Mike Ayala, unpacking his things when I arrived at the dorms. We eventually became really good friends. Small world, huh?"

"Definitely."

Kevin tried not to interrupt and discretely left the dessert in between them, carefully placing two forks on either side of the plate.

"Are you going to take Einstein with you?" Kathryn asked as she took a bite of the dessert. "Oh, this is so good."

Chakotay took a bite and nodded. "I thought about it but I'm not. I think it would be too much for him and for me. Maybe when he's older and has a bit more training. That's why I was talking to Ivan before class. I wanted to know about their boarding services."

"You're going to put Einstein in a kennel?" Kathryn didn't mean to sound so devastated but couldn't help herself.

Chakotay shrugged. "I don't really want to but Seska hasn't really warmed up to him yet and is probably not going to be home much, either. I can't leave him with Sekaya since Edgar won't be home and she's busy, too. I think he'll be better off at the shelter. Plus, I'll only be gone about two days really."

Before she could stop the words from coming out, Kathryn blurted, "I can take care of him."

Chakotay watched her as he slowly chewed the cake. "You want to take him for the weekend? He eventually asked.

"Yes."

"Won't be that be too much?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm positive.

"Don't you have plans?"

"Just dinner with my sister on Saturday, other than that I'm free."

Chakotay gently smiled. "Well, if you don't mind, I would really appreciate your help."

"I'm honored to do it."

Kathryn looked up as Kevin walked up. "I'm going to leave this right here," he placed the bill on the table, "and if you need anything else, let me know."

Kathryn quickly reached for the check holder and grabbed her wallet from her purse.

"Kathryn, let's split the bill. It's only fair," Chakotay insisted.

"Nonsense. I said I was going to pay." She placed her credit card in the sleeve and set it on the table.

Kevin took the check holder and quickly returned, "I'm sorry, Ms. Janeway, but I'm going to have to see some ID. A lot of restaurants in the area have been targets of credit card fraud lately and we need to double check all transactions. I apologize."

"It's no problem," Kathryn said and she pulled out her ID from her wallet. "Better safe than sorry, right?"

Kevin smiled and nodded while he compared the card to her ID. "Well, thank you for that and happy belated birthday to you" he added before walking away.

"Thank you." She put her wallet away and looked up to find Chakotay staring at her. "What?"

"It was your birthday? When?"

"On Friday," she responded in a low voice as she shrugged it off. "No big deal."

"Birthdays are a big deal. Why didn't you say anything?"

"I guess the same reason you didn't say anything about being vegetarian."

Chakotay chuckled. "Touché."

"It's really not a big deal to me. Especially this year. The only celebrating I'm doing is with my sister on Saturday. And that's only happening because she's an insistent little pest that won't stop."

"Sounds like Sekaya."

Kathryn laughed. "Little sisters are the worst, aren't they?"

"Tell me about it." Chakotay paused, then smiled at her. "Well, happy belated birthday, Kathryn."

"Thank you. So, shall we go?"

"We shall. And thank you for dinner."

"My pleasure."

/\/\

The glow of the television provided the only light in the room which cast an eerie shadow over Seska's body while she ate her dinner from a paper plate.

She had gotten home earlier than usual expecting Chakotay to be there, but he wasn't. She had set the dining room table with the nice china she hardly used and pulled out the beautiful candlestick holders she had received from her mother on her last birthday.

She waited.

By the second hour she cleared the table, put the candlesticks away, grateful she actually never lit the candles because they would have become a melted mess, and plopped herself on the couch where she still remained.

She looked up when she heard the door unlock and saw Chakotay walk in with dog in tow. "Hey, I thought you would be home earlier?"

Chakotay startled. "Hi, I didn't expect you downstairs."

"Someone recommended a documentary on Netflix and thought I would check it out before going to bed."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

They both remained frozen in place as an awkward silence passed through them. Chakotay still held onto Einstein's leash, who, for once, was sitting obediently by him. Chakotay took a couple steps into the living room and the puppy hesitantly followed.

"I meant to call you earlier and thank you for the gift but thought you might be busy with work."

"I'm never too busy to answer your calls, you know that."

Chakotay awkwardly smiled. "Good to know."

"I brought some of that Thai food you like for dinner. I thought you would be home when I got here. It's probably cold now. You'll have to microwave it," Seska said as she played with the hem of her nightgown.

"Oh, uh, thanks. I'm actually not hungry."

"Oh, you ate?"

"No. I mean, yes. At Sekaya's. I uh-" he emptied out the contents of his pockets and placed everything on the nearby coffee table as if trying to buy himself some time. "She needed some help moving stuff around the garage and I went over after the puppy training class."

Seska had worked with lawyers for too many years to know when someone was bending the truth. "Okay, well, if you want to watch this," she pointed toward the television with the remote, "I can rewind. I'm only about ten minutes in."

Chakotay ran his hand through his hair. "Um, I think I'm going to take Einstein for a quick walk around the block. I want him to get his business out of the way before bed time."

"Can't he go in the backyard?" Seska asked, furrowing her brows.

"A walk will be better for him."

Seska shrugged. "All right. If you say so."

"I'll be right back."

"Do you want me to wait for you or…"

"No, it's fine. I'll catch up when I get back."

Seska weakly smiled as she watched him turn toward the door and walk out the door with the dog. She was about to hit the play button on the remote when she heard the ding of a phone. She looked around for hers when she remembered she had left it charging upstairs.

She stood up and walked to the table where Chakotay had left his things. The screen had already gone dark when she picked it up. She momentarily thought about going after him since he shouldn't be too far down the block.

She was going to set the phone down exactly where she found it when it lit up as a second text came in.

"Kathryn Janeway?" Seska muttered under her breath.

She didn't immediately recognize the name from any conversations she'd had with Chakotay. It's not like she knew all of Chakotay's work colleagues anyhow. But deep down she felt these texts weren't regarding a professional matter.

She glanced at the door and with curiosity getting the best of her, she unlocked his phone. She could feel her heart racing as she stared at the glowing screen.

 _If you're going to do it, just do it._

She took a deep breath, hit the messages button and found the texts from this so-called Kathryn Janeway.

"'Thank you for having dinner with me today. I had a wonderful time… like always. Have a good night.'" Seska read out loud as she felt her heart drop into the depths of her stomach and continued onto the next text. "'And I was serious about the dog sitting this weekend. Let me know the details. See you soon.'"

She couldn't breathe. She could hear ringing in her ears and the lump in her throat was making it difficult to swallow.

He _had_ lied to her.

She could feel the hot liquid building up in her eyes. "No! You are better than this!" She yelled at herself as she quickly wiped the tears that managed to escape. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.

She locked the phone and put it down on the table. She knew Chakotay wasn't one to pick up on little details and would never realize she had looked at his phone.

She stood in the middle of the living room wondering what to do. Could she sit down on the couch and wait for him to get back and continue to watch this documentary with him as if nothing had happened? Or was she going to run and hide?

She closed her eyes in an effort to make the pain go away. She picked up the remote, turned off the television, ran up the stairs and locked the bedroom door behind her.

[TBC]


	11. Chapter 11

"I messed up."

"I know you did. I called you a million times yesterday and-"

"No, not that. Well, I am sorry I didn't call you back but that's not what I'm talking about." Chakotay held his cell phone to his ear with his shoulder while he tried to lock the front door.

Sekaya groaned. "What did my genius brother do now?"

"I screwed everything up."

"With who?"

"Seska."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line followed by a flat, "Oh."

Chakotay unlocked his car and got in. "What do you mean by 'Oh'? You usually have more to say than just 'Oh.' Especially when it comes to matters regarding Seska."

"It's nothing."

"You thought I was going to say something else, didn't you?"

"Maybe."

"You thought it had something to do with Kathryn, right?"

There was another slightly shorter pause this time. "A little."

"How much did Edgar tell you?" Chakotay sighed.

"Enough."

"I'm in my car and have to get to work. Are you free later? I would like to talk to you but not over the phone, if that's okay?"

"That's fine. Why don't you come to the restaurant for lunch around two or three? The lunch rush is usually over by then and we can have more time to talk."

"All right, that sounds doable. Thanks, Seky."

"No problem. Try to stay out of trouble for the next couple of hours, okay?"

Chakotay chuckled. "I'll try."

/\/\

The traffic on Los Feliz Blvd was always a nightmare, yet it was still the fastest way to the restaurant. At least the homes and apartments lining the streets were interesting to look at and the occasional glimpses of the observatory made Chakotay think of Kathryn.

 _I wonder if she's ever been there._ "Of course she's been there, doofus. She doesn't live under a rock."

Chakotay was irritated, mostly with himself, partially with traffic, as he patiently waited for the signal to turn green. The Mess Hall, Sekaya's restaurant, was right on the corner of the busy intersection.

When he finally turned, he was glad there was ample parking in the lot. During busy hours it was sometimes difficult to find a spot and even harder to find street parking. He strolled inside to find a few people eating. The restaurant had come a long way from its initial opening. It had more of a modern, sleek look now but still managed to keep its homey environment.

"Hey! Chakotay. It's been a while since I've seen you. How's it going?"

Chakotay waved at Maria and walked toward the bar. "It's going."

Maria, who had been the bartender since day one, grimaced. "That bad?"

"Well, it's not good."

"You want a drink?" Maria grinned. "Some whiskey? A martini? A tequila shot?"

Chakotay laughed and sat down on one of the stools. "Nah, I have to go back to work in about an hour or so. Is my sister around?"

"Yeah, she's in the kitchen. Do you want me to get her?"

"Just let her know I'm here. She's expecting me." He stood up. "I'm going to sit at my usual table. I'll wait for her there."

"Are you sure you don't want a drink? You look like you need one."

Chakotay laughed again. "I'll have some ginger ale."

"Let me get Sekaya and I'll take your drink right over."

"Okay."

Chakotay made his way to his favorite spot in the restaurant. It was a somewhat secluded table by a large window that didn't face the street, only some trees. He was lost in thought that he didn't hear Sekaya approach.

"Geez, you look extra mopey today. Here, Maria told me to give you this," she handed him a tall glass and placed a plate in front of him, "and I made you a grilled cheese with sweet potato fries."

Chakotay reached for the drink and took a sip. "This tastes…different. Better than the other ginger ale you used to have."

"We switched brands. You should try the tonic water in a cocktail; it makes a world of difference."

"Good to know."

Sekaya sat down. "So what's up?"

Chakotay took a bite of his sandwich and slowly chewed. "I messed up," he said without taking his eyes off his plate.

"Yeah, you somewhat established that earlier."

He set his sandwich down and looked up at Sekaya. "I'm pretty sure Seska knows I was lying to her about my whereabouts yesterday."

"And where were you?"

Chakotay ate a couple of fries before answering. "I was with Kathryn."

Sekaya's eyebrows shot up and mouth fell open. "You mean like," she tangled her hands together and swished them around.

Chakotay was momentarily confused by her gesture until he realized what she meant. "No! No, no, no! Nothing like that. "We're just friends. We had dinner after our training class."

"Oh." Sekaya leaned back in her chair, appearing disappointed. "Then why didn't you just tell Seska that?"

"Because I thought the truth might upset her. And she had gone out of her way to be nice that day."

"So a lie is better?"

Chakotay sighed. "It isn't, but at the moment it seemed to be."

"Okay," Sekaya placed her hands on the table, "You need to tell me exactly what happened because I'm not quite getting the gist of things."

"Yesterday morning I found a gift bag on the dining room table. It was full of treats and toys for Einstein. They were from Seska as an apology for an argument we had on Friday."

"What did you fight about?" Sekaya asked as she stole a couple of fries from Chakotay's plate.

"She was angry that Einstein chewed up one of her shoes and-"

"Which ones?"

"Does it matter?"

"Well, yeah."

Chakotay rolled his eyes. "Lou- something."

"Louboutins?"

"Yes, those."

Sekaya cringed. "Ouch. Those shoes cost twice as much as my car payment."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, look them up. They aren't cheap so I don't blame her for being mad. I would have too."

"Well, that wasn't all of it."

"Did she bring up the typical shit she always does?"

"Pretty much but now she threw in the dog too."

"I'm telling you, she's always going to hold something over your head. She thinks she's superior to you in every way. What happened next?"

"I went to training class, grabbed dinner with Kathryn and when I got home around eight, Seska was already home. She had bought some of my favorite Thai food but-"

"Uh-huh."

"- Since I had eaten, I told her I had gone over to your place because you needed help and I ate there."

"Thanks for throwing me under the bus."

"It's not like she would have called you to ask."

Sekaya rolled her eyes. "Okay, whatever. Go on."

"She invited me to watch a movie with her but I told her I was going to walk the dog. When I came back, the television was turned off and she wasn't there. I went to the bedroom and the door was locked."

"Yup, she definitely knows."

"That's not all." Chakotay took a long drink. "I'm sure she read my texts when I left for the walk."

Sekaya threw her head back in despair. "You left your phone behind?!"

"I didn't realize I had."

"Chakotay…"

"I left it on the coffee table. I just didn't think about it. Later, I went to text Kathryn thanks for dinner when I noticed she had already texted me a bit after I arrived home."

"What did the texts say?"

"Nothing terrible really. Just thanks for having dinner with her and that she was serious about dog sitting this weekend. Not too bad, right?"

Sekaya sighed. "Yes and no. To _you_ they might seem innocent but to Seska they mean something else. Mainly because you blatantly lied to her face. If you're going to lie, you have to do it well and you have to cover your ass in all areas."

Chakotay scratched his head. "I screwed up, huh?"

"You definitely did, my friend. And it's not like you are the best liar anyhow."

"I am too!"

Seska pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. "Chakotay, how many times did you lie to mom, huh? And how many times did you get caught in a lie?"

"That's irrelevant."

"How so?!"

"Because mom was psychic or something."

"Yeah that's exactly it." Sekaya scoffed. "Have you talked to Seska since last night?"

"Not yet."

"If I were you, I would tell her the truth. Try to clear things up because you know one lie leads to another which leads to one more. It never ends. But that's just my opinion." Sekaya looked around the restaurant. "Why don't you finish eating while I check in on the kitchen. When I get back you can fill me in on this Kathryn person."

"Do I have to?"

"Yeah, you do." Sekaya winked at him as she walked away

/\/\

It didn't take Chakotay long to tell Sekaya the story of how he met Kathryn. He told her about their meeting at the shelter, coincidentally signing up for the same training class and their friendly get-togethers at the coffee shop and park. Followed by their recent dinner which had led to the predicament he was currently in.

"So that's it." Chakotay shrugged.

Sekaya studied him. "That's it, huh?"

"Yup."

"If only you could see yourself when you talk about her."

Chakotay frowned. "What?"

"You light up, Chakotay. There's this spark in your eyes that I've never seen before."

"You're being ridiculous." He rolled his eyes as he took a long drink.

"Tom was right, you actually look happy for once. That's how I would love to see my brother all the time. Not that somber guy that came in earlier."

Chakotay held up his hand. "Wait, what is this about Tom?"

Sekaya scrunched her face. "Ugh, me and my big mouth."

"What did Tom say?"

Sekaya sighed. "Tom and B'Elanna came in a couple days ago to sample the food for their engagement party. You know the one you asked me to cater as a favor to you."

"Yeah..."

"And you know how Maria can make a stiff drink. Well apparently Tom is a lightweight and he got pretty chatty and spilled the beans."

"Oh," Chakotay looked dismayed.

"Before you get upset with Tom, he didn't say anything incriminating, okay? He just pretty much said what I noticed earlier-"

"That I look happy?"

"Exactly. And he only brought it up when B'Elanna stepped away so it was very brief."

Chakotay chuckled. "B'Elanna hates when he gossips. At least he was coherent enough to realize that."

"When Tom mentioned Kathryn, I remembered Edgar said something about a lady named Kathryn he met at the shelter."

"And you put two and two together."

"Pretty much."

Chakotay looked out the window and turned back to his sister, eyes squinted. "Is that why you packed so much food for the picnic?"

Sekaya smiled. "Guilty."

"But how did you know?

"I inherited mom's psychic gene?"

"Oh, shut up!" Chakotay laughed. "No, but seriously, how did you know?"

"I assumed. Call it intuition? And you sounded really chipper on the phone when you asked if Edgar was free."

"By the way, she really liked your food."

"I'm glad. You should bring her here one of these days."

"I dunno…"

"Okay, too forward. But the invite is open."

There was a pause while Chakotay fiddled with his cloth napkin. "What has Edgar told you?"

"You really want to know what he said?" Sekaya cheekily grinned.

"Of course."

"Okay, and I'm quoting, he said 'Uncle Chakotay looks at Kathryn the way Mulder looks at Agent Scully'."

"Are you letting him watch that show? He's too young for that."

"Um, focus on the big picture here, Chakotay. And if you must know, I watch it with him and only some episodes. Not the really creepy ones. Plus, the news is a lot more worrisome than some sci-fi show, so chill."

"I guess." There was a pause. "So he really said that?"

"Yup. I had to bite my cheek to stop from laughing. He may be a kid but he's astute, that's for sure."

"No kidding."

"He did say she's nice and pretty."

"Well, he's not lying."

"You really like her, don't you?" Sekaya teased. "Actually, don't answer that, I already know you do. So what are you going to do now?"

Chakotay let out a big breath. "Talk to Seska, I guess."

"I think you should. It's a good start, at least."

"It's not going to be easy."

"It never is." Sekaya leaned in and reached for Chakotay's arm. "You're a good guy. Sometimes too good, if you ask me. After what she did to you a couple years ago, I don't know how you managed to forgive her."

Chakotay closed his eyes. "Don't bring that up."

"I'm sorry. I know I said I wouldn't talk about it again but I just can't sit here and pretend something never happened. I want you to be truly happy and I think you may have a chance at that with Kathryn, you get me?"

"I do," Chakotay sighed. "I have to get back to work. I've been gone far too long."

"All right. Do you want to take some food home for dinner?"

Chakotay shook his head. "No, I'm fine."

They hugged each other and Sekaya walked him to the door. "Call me if you need anything. I'm always here for you."

"Thanks. I appreciate your insight."

"Anytime."

/\/\

"What do you mean she's not in the office?"

"That's exactly what I mean, Chakotay, she's not in the office."

"Well, is she going to be in today? I've been trying to get a hold of her since Tuesday and it's now Thursday and I haven't heard back from her."

"She won't be in today." Seska's executive assistant sighed and lowered her voice. "Look, I can't tell you where she's at because I can get into trouble, okay?"

"Well, what can you tell me?"

"She came in Tuesday, tied up loose ends then said she was taking the rest of the week off. She'll be back in the office after Memorial Day. That's all I can tell you."

"Just one more question, was she okay?"

"Okay?"

"Yes, like did she seem upset in any way?"

There was hesitation on the other end. "She seemed fine, I guess. I mean, it's Seska. She's really hard to read most of the time, that's why she makes such an amazing lawyer. That's all I can say, Chakotay."

"Thanks, Sheila. I really appreciate it."

"No problem. Sorry I can't tell you more."

"It's okay. I get it. Just, if she calls, can you let her know I'm trying to get in contact with her?"

"Sure thing."

"Thanks."

Chakotay ended the call and sighed. It was obvious Seska didn't want to talk to him nor be found. There wasn't anything he could do until she decided to return home and that didn't seem to be any time soon apparently.

A tinge of guilt started to settle in but he quickly pushed it aside. He was leaving Saturday morning and he wasn't going to let this ruin his trip. It was all a waiting game now.

[TBC]


	12. Chapter 12

AN: Thanks again for the reviews. A lot of you have been cracking me up. I hope to post another update soon since writing this fic has become my solace lately. :/

* * *

Kathryn wished she could travel back in time to Monday's dinner and rescind her offer. She hadn't made it past her front yard and she had already managed to break a sweat.

"Einstein, no! Don't dig up the flowers!" She pulled on the puppy's leash with one hand while her other arm was being pulled in the opposite direction by Amelia. "Amelia! Stop!

She was grateful Amelia and Einstein were still puppies. She was certain if they were fully grown dogs, her arms would have popped out of their sockets by now.

"You two stop!" She yelled as she tried nudging both dogs toward the sidewalk and away from the grass. A walk had seemed like a great idea about fifteen minutes ago but now she was sure she wanted to go back inside and pour herself a glass of wine.

Kathryn tugged on the puppies' leashes once more to get them to move. She patiently waited on the sidewalk as they slowly sauntered toward her. She normally didn't have any problems walking Amelia; she only occasionally barked at a squirrel or tried to lunge at a cat but Kathryn could keep her under control. But apparently having her sibling around had caused her rebellious side to materialize.

Both dogs eventually made it to the sidewalk and began to slowly walk in front of Kathryn. They kept a pleasant pace that Kathryn began to relax and somewhat enjoy her morning stroll. "See, you two, that's not so bad."

Even though the sun was out and felt warm on Kathryn's face, it was still quite a chilly morning. Kathryn zipped up her sweater all the way to the top when the cold breeze started prickling at her chest. She looked up at the clear blue sky and noticed dark, looming clouds in the far distance. It was cliché to say but it never rained in Southern California so she didn't make much fuss about them.

They had successfully made it past several houses without issue when Kathryn's shoulders sagged and she loudly groaned, "Not the Henderson's cat." At least she had spotted the feline before the puppies had and she was able to brace for the impending impact.

Both dogs promptly lunged toward the neighbor's yard and started barking at the poor cat. Kathryn held her grip tightly on the leashes as she tried to pull them back. "Stop! Get back here!"

"Do you need some help?"

Kathryn quickly glanced over her shoulder toward the unfamiliar voice but wasn't able to make out who it was due to the sun's glare. "Yes! Please!"

A hand stretched out toward hers and grabbed hold of one of the leashes. "Here, let me take this one, just make sure you keep a tight grasp on the other one."

"Okay," Kathryn quickly said as she tightened her grip on Einstein's leash.

By now the Henderson's cat had dashed from their porch and had safely made its way to the backyard. The puppies, realizing their target was no longer in reach, stopped barking and made their way back toward their prior path.

Kathryn let out a loud breath she'd been holding in and quickly wiped the droplets of sweat that had gathered on her forehead. "Well, that was fun," she quipped as she looked over at the person that had helped her and added, "Thank you. You are a real life saver."

She didn't recognize the blonde woman at first. The few times she had seen her in passing, her hair had been pulled up in a French twist but now she wore it down which beautifully irradiated in the sun's rays. She was much younger than she imagined and a lot more beautiful; almost modelesque.

"You're Annika, aren't you?"

Annika smiled and stretched out her hand to shake Kathryn's. "I am. It's nice to finally meet you in person."

"Likewise," Kathryn said as she shook the other woman's hand, making sure she didn't let go of the leash. The puppies, becoming impatient, were now wandering around them, taking quick sniffs at the new arrival's yoga pants.

"I can help you walk them if you like. I don't have anywhere to be right now."

"Are you sure? I don't want you to feel obligated. Honestly, I was thinking of heading back home."

"I'm sure. We can at least go around the block. If it gets too much we can always turn back."

Kathryn smiled. "Okay, that sounds like a plan."

They walked in silence for a bit before Annika said, "I've been meaning to head over to your house and say hi but I get home late a lot of the time or simply get lazy."

Kathryn laughed. "I know that feeling sometimes. It's perfectly fine. I did have a nice conversation with your aunt the other day."

"She told me. Well, she handed me the note a couple days after you came over." Annika frowned. "She has a bit of dementia so it can be somewhat difficult at times. Sometimes I find all the lights turned on at night and she'll be asleep or I'll find a book in the fridge. But she's still pretty sharp most of the time."

"I'm sorry." Kathryn didn't know what else to say and somehow those words always seemed fitting in these types of situations.

"It is what it is." Annika shrugged. "That's one of the reasons I moved in with her."

"How long have you been living there? I'm a terrible neighbor and really have no idea who lives where or for how long. "

"I moved in about a year ago. And you aren't terrible, just busy. I noticed you really aren't home that much, except recently you have." She paused. "I'm sorry that came across as a tad…intrusive."

Kathryn laughed. "Well, you aren't wrong."

"I should explain, though. My aunt has an armchair by the living room window that I like to sit in to read or study. It has a clear view of your house so I can see a lot of what happens."

"Oh, so that's why you noticed me the other night?"

Annika nodded. "Sorry if I embarrassed you. You just looked down and I wanted to help but didn't know how. I'm not the best with social interactions so sometimes I end up sticking my foot in my mouth."

Kathryn meekly smiled. "I'm not going to lie, I was slightly embarrassed at first, but it was also nice to know that someone cares." Kathryn paused. "It really was a lovely gesture."

They walked in silence past a couple of more houses with the puppies obediently leading the way, only occasionally stopping to sniff some plants or take care of some business.

"I thought you only had one dog?" Annika eventually asked when they turned the corner.

"I do. I'm dog sitting for a friend."

"They look so much alike though," Annika observed.

"They're related. We adopted them at the same time." Before Kathryn could elaborate on their adoption story, she realized they had made it back to her house. "I can take her back if you like. I don't want to keep you any longer."

"Oh no, that's perfectly fine. I can help you get them inside. I honestly don't have plans today. My aunt is visiting friends for the weekend so I have the house to myself. I'm not used to being along and feel kind of weird."

"It takes time to adapt to being alone. I should know." Annika looked confused but didn't ask Kathryn what she meant. "Since you don't have plans why don't you come in and we can break open that bottle of wine you so kindly gave me." Kathryn quickly stopped herself. "Actually, coffee might be better since I don't think it's even noon yet."

"I'd love to and coffee sounds great."

"Good. Let's get these troublemakers in the house and we can settle down."

Annika nodded and followed Kathryn inside.

/\/\

"Geez, why is it so cold tonight? It's the end of May, you would think it would be warmer by now." Phoebe linked her arm in Kathryn's and pulled her close as they walked down the street toward the restaurant.

Kathryn chuckled and patted Phoebe's hand. "Apparently we're supposed to get rain tonight or tomorrow morning. But you know what always happens, it rains for five seconds and then it's over."

"True. I kind of wish I would have worn pants."

"You could have borrowed some of mine, you know."

"I guess, but I really wanted to wear this skirt. Plus, no offense Katie, your pants sometimes give off a soccer mom vibe. No offense to soccer moms," Phoebe yelled over her shoulder to no one in particular.

"They do not!" Kathryn scoffed.

"I'll just have a drink or two to warm me up and I'll be fine," Phoebe grinned, ignoring Kathryn's protest. "We really should have taken an Uber."

"I didn't mind driving, Pheebs."

"I know. The parking structure is just so darn far. Anyway, I've been meaning to ask all evening, who was that leaving your house when I pulled up. I was thrown off by the extra dog that I forgot to ask."

"That's Annika. She lives across the street." Kathryn could tell Phoebe was trying to place the name by the expression she was making.

"Oh! Is that mystery wine girl?"

"Yup, that's her."

"She's beautiful. I couldn't help staring at her while she crossed the street. I hope she didn't notice."

"I hope not."

"So what were you two doing?"

"She helped me walk the dogs this morning. I invited her over for coffee afterward. She's very sweet. "

"Oh, we're here!" Phoebe let go of Kathryn's arms and clapped.

Kathryn rolled her eyes. "You're like a child, Phoebe."

"I know. But the world sucks enough as it is, so why be grumpy, boring, and adult-like all the time, you know?" Phoebe said, as she opened the door to the restaurant.

Before Kathryn could answer, a long forgotten memory hit her like a tidal wave. She felt her heart tighten and momentarily felt lightheaded. She clenched her jaw and stared at the floor while she tried to make the memory go away. She looked up when she felt Phoebe squeeze her arm.

"Are you okay, Katie? You look super pale, which is really hard to accomplish since you are practically translucent as it is."

A lot of the time Kathryn found Phoebe's sense of humor and her jabs at her appearance annoying, but at this moment she was grateful for her sister's jocular personality.

Kathryn managed a soft chuckle. "I'm okay. I just need a moment."

"Do you want to go home? Or sit down? There's a bench a couple feet away."

"No, no. I'm fine. I just remembered the last time I was here." Kathryn paused. "Mark and I had dinner here right before I told him I wanted to get a divorce."

They both moved to the side to keep from blocking passersby. For once Phoebe was quiet and simply ran her hand across Kathryn's back in a soothing manner.

"Sorry, Pheebs. I just-"

"Don't be." Phoebe cut her off and gave her a gentle squeeze. "We can go somewhere else. There's a King Taco about two blocks away. We can stuff ourselves silly with tacos." Phoebe waggled her eyebrows.

Kathryn laughed. "That sounds really good actually, but I need to do this. I can't have little things hinder me."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

Phoebe grabbed Kathryn by the arm. "Okay, lead the way."

/\/\

"I'm so glad I ordered the spinach gnocchi. It is _so_ good! Do you want to try?" Phoebe asked Kathryn as she ate another forkful.

"No, I've had it before."

Phoebe put her fork down and looked at Kathryn. "Please, don't tell me that's what you ate the last time you were here?"

Kathryn muffled a cuckle. "No. I can't even remember the meal. Just that it was at this restaurant."

"I'm sorry that I keep bringing it up."

"Stop apologizing, Phoebe. It's something that happened and will forever be part of my life. I can't always avoid matters that are inconvenient."

"I know," Phoebe mumbled, moving her food around the plate with her fork.

Kathryn frowned. "What's wrong? A moment ago I was concerned you were going to swallow the plate whole and now you're not even eating."

"I worry about you sometimes." Phoebe sighed. "I know you're a tough cookie and can deal with a lot but," Phoebe paused while she made imaginary doodles on the tablecloth with her finger, "I just always think of how you reacted to daddy's accident and I don't want that to happen again, you know?"

Kathryn silently chewed her food as she stared at her plate.

"I'm sorry, Katie. I shouldn't have brought that up either. I'm making this dinner super depressing and we're supposed to be celebrating your birthday."

Kathryn looked up and smiled at her sister. "It's not depressing, Phoebe. Well, maybe a little but that's how life is sometimes. I'm just glad to know I have a sister that cares about me and will always be there to get me out of a rut if I need her to."

"Uh, you sound like a Hallmark card." Phoebe cringed.

"There she is! I was wondering where your humor had escaped to."

They ate in silence for a while before Phoebe cleared her throat. "I know you always say no when I invite you to these things because you think it's a bunch of phony baloney stuff, but you should really come out to these yoga and meditation sessions."

"Phoebe…"

"I know, I know, I'm barking up the wrong tree but I think they would help you relax and destress. I've been going to this place for a couple of months now and it's great."

"Uh-huh." Kathryn was only partially listening while she continued to eat.

"The instructor is named Tuvok, well at least that's what he calls himself, and he is a complete trip. He never, ever smiles or cracks a joke. It's so bizarre but he's absolutely great."

"Sounds neat."

Phoebe frowned. "You're not listening, are you?"

"I heard 'Tuvok' and 'smile,'" Kathryn offered.

"Nevermind. It's useless." Phoebe paused. "I think I'm going to get another martini. Do you want more wine?"

"No, I think I need to stay alert tonight. Not sure how it will go with the other puppy around."

"How did you end up dog sitting anyway? You were somewhat vague when I brought it up earlier."

Kathryn took a long sip from her glass and set it down. "I offered."

"Ah, you offered."

"Yes. Are you going to want to get dessert here or should we pick up some cupcakes from the bakery across the street and take them home?"

Phoebe shook her head while she scrutinized Kathryn. "I know what you're trying to do. Don't change the subject."

"I'm not. I was-"

"From what I recall, the last time I was over, you adopted a puppy and met…um, well whatever his name was, and thought he was really cute. Now you're taking care of his dog? You need to fill in the blanks, please."

"Chakotay," Kathryn mumbled.

"What?"

"His name is Chakotay."

"Okay." Phoebe continued to eat then suddenly exclaimed, "Wait! Is he the person you had dinner with on Monday when I was trying to call you?! You were super vague that day too. I just assumed you were pulling a Kathryn, but now I get it!"

Kathryn quickly glanced around the restaurant. "Phoebe, lower your voice, people are starting to look this way."

"Sorry, sorry," she whispered as she clasped her hands and leaned forward on the table, her face lit up. "So, are you guys dating? Is this why you never answer your phone when I call? Are you busy making out and stuff?"

Kathryn let you an exasperated breath. "You're being ridiculous and you sound like a teenager."

"You swear I care. Come on, tell me!" Phoebe begged.

"If you must know, we aren't dating. We're just friends."

Phoebe stared at Kathryn. "I don't believe you."

"Well, it's the truth. Why would I lie?"

"To watch me squirm."

Kathryn giggled. "That's true, but I promise you I am not lying about this."

"So you just offered to dog sit because you two are amazing _friends_ that have known each other a full two weeks. That's some powerful _friend_ ship," Phoebe said as she sat back in her chair.

"He was in a bind. I felt bad and wanted to help."

"Where did he go that he needed a sitter?"

"Camping."

"By himself?"

"With friends."

"Where to?"

"I didn't ask."

"Why not?"

"I'm starting to feel like I should call a lawyer."

"I'm just curious and want to know what this guy is about." Phoebe wildly gestured with her hands.

Kathryn bit her lip. "He seemed different this morning, though."

"How so?" Phoebe leaned forward again.

"I'm not sure. A bit distant, I suppose. Like something was on his mind. He did mention he was running late."

"Maybe that was it?"

"Possibly. All I know is that he's coming back Monday around noon."

A loud clap of thunder made them, and mostly everyone else in the restaurant, jump. They both looked out the window and noticed people on the streets scurrying about trying to take cover from the sudden downpour.

"It's actually raining," Phoebe muttered to herself. "I can't believe it."

"I bet the dogs are freaking out with the thunder."

"We should probably go then." Phoebe signaled to the waiter for the check.

"But you didn't get your second martini. Or dessert."

"I'm cool. I brought the ingredients to make mom's caramel brownies since I know how much you love them. I was thinking of baking them tomorrow morning but tonight will be better. It'll make the house nice and cozy."

"I like your way of thinking, Phoebe Janeway."

Phoebe somberly looked out the window again and then down at her lap. "Now I really wish I had borrowed your soccer mom pants."

Kathryn laughed. "Oh, be quiet and let's get going."

[TBC]


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Just a couple of things: First, this is the longest chapter I've written so far. I reread it so many times, I'm not even sure if it makes sense anymore. Second, there might be a delay in posting the next chapter, hence the current long one. The coming week is hectic so I'm not quite sure how much time I'll get to write. Third, to those in the U.S., Happy Thanksgiving. To those everywhere else or not celebrating, Happy Thursday. And the most important day of all, Happy Gilmore Girls Revival day! That's what I plan to be doing Friday. You can blame them for the lack of update. :)

* * *

Even with the windshield wipers moving back and forth at maximum speed, Chakotay could barely see the road ahead of him, let alone any of the street signs.

He was driving well below the speed limit but was fortunate enough to be the only moving vehicle in the vicinity. It was well past nine but everything appeared much darker and ominous in the rain. To make matters worse, he didn't immediately recognize any of his surroundings. He cursed himself for not having used his car's GPS to get to Kathryn's house the day before and instead relied on the directions she had texted him.

He picked up his phone from the passenger seat and pressed the power button hoping it would miraculously turn on. It didn't. The battery had died soon after he left Tom's apartment in Burbank about one hour ago. He cursed himself again for having forgotten his phone charger at home.

Chakotay sighed. He still couldn't believe how many things had gone wrong during the weekend. He almost felt as if he had been cursed. But it's not like he could be held responsible for the sudden storm that had rolled in.

He refocused his attention to the road. He felt he was going down the correct street but wasn't completely sure; everything looked the same in the dark. "Maybe I should just go home," Chakotay mumbled to himself when a sudden burst of lightning illuminated the night sky. That's when he noticed the large blue mailbox on the corner of the street and quickly made a right turn. He remembered Kathryn mentioning the mailbox in the directions.

Chakotay had been in such a rush the previous morning he didn't quite pay attention to the distance from the mailbox to the house. At least the rain was letting up a bit which made it easier to see. He was positive he was getting close when he spotted her car parked in front of her house. As he pulled up behind her, his headlights illuminated the NASA bumper sticker on her car.

"She's such a nerd," he chuckled to himself.

He lowered the foggy passenger window just enough to get a better look at the house. All rooms appeared dark except for the soft glow seeping through the thin curtains of the larger window, which he assumed to be the living room. He had dropped off Einstein so quickly he never made it inside the house.

He glanced at the time display in his car. It was close to ten o'clock. He didn't think Kathryn was asleep but it was a really late hour to show up unannounced at someone's home. Maybe he really should drive home and return in the morning, at least then he wouldn't be exhausted, dirty, and sporting wet clothes. But deep down he didn't want to. For some reason he needed the comfort of seeing Kathryn's friendly face.

Chakotay rolled up his window and shut off the engine of the car. It was still raining enough that he knew he would need to make a dash for the door. It really didn't matter much at this point, he already had gotten soaked earlier in the day, he just didn't want to show up at Kathryn's door as if he had recently taken a dip in the Pacific with his clothes on.

He took a deep breath, grabbed his car keys, opened the car door and jumped out. He slammed the door shut behind him as he ran around the car and sprinted up the walkway toward the porch. He took a moment to catch his breath and wipe some of the water from his face before gently knocking on the door.

Chakotay waited but nothing happened. He tried putting his ear close to the wooden door but could only make out the rain hitting the ground. He knocked once again, a tad harder this time, and was immediately met with muffled barks from inside. He had expected the door to open at some point, but still nothing.

He knocked once again, "Kathryn! It's me, Chakotay!" He saw a light flick on inside and the door cracked open an inch.

"Chakotay? What on earth?" Her concerned face partially appeared in the opening. "What are you- wait, give me a second." She closed the door. He could hear the unlatching of the security chain while she talked to the puppies until she reopened it. "Hurry, come in."

"I'm wet and I'm going to get everything dirty. I just came for Einstein."

Kathryn rolled her eyes. "Don't be stupid. You're soaked and it's pouring out. Just come in and dry off a bit at least."

He stepped inside as Kathryn closed the door behind him. Einstein immediately pounced on Chakotay, licking his hands and scratching at his shirt. He kneeled down to pet the dog all over in an effort to get the dog to calm down. When he looked up, he noticed Kathryn holding a baseball bat in her hand. "I don't want to play baseball," he deadpanned.

Kathryn let out a loud giggle. "Why? Scared I'll be beat you?"

"Exactly," Chakotay smiled.

"It's my source of protection, especially when I get strange knocks in the middle of a downpour when it's dark out." She leaned the bat against the wall. "Looks like someone missed you."

Chakotay sighed as he patted the dog's head and stood up. "It's nice to be missed. Sorry I didn't call ahead of time. My phone died. I hope I didn't wake you?"

"Oh, no." She paused. "Well, sort of. I dozed off while reading on the couch."

Chakotay glanced over to the living room and noticed the lit fireplace. "I'm really sorry, Kathryn. I should have come over tomorrow like we originally planned."

"No, no. It's fine. Is everything all right? Did something happen?"

Chakotay ran his hand through his wet hair and groaned. "Ugh, what didn't happen." Several water droplets landed on the floor adding to the other small puddles that had already formed around him. "Kathryn, I'm making a mess."

"It's okay," she waved it off. "It's wood floor. It's easy to clean. Let me get some old towels though." She walked off and disappeared into the darkened room.

Chakotay was going to follow and lend a hand when he looked down and noticed his hiking boots covered in mud. It was already bad enough there was water in the entryway; he didn't need to track mud throughout her house as well.

"Do you mind if I take my shoes off?" He yelled. "They're covered in mud."

"That's fine."

Her voice sounded muffled from wherever it came from. Chakotay leaned over and untied his shoes. He heeled them off and picked them up from the floor. He looked at the soles and was pretty sure he had managed to bring home all the dirt from the mountains. He was about to search for Kathryn when she suddenly reappeared.

"Here," she handed him a brown paper bag, "for your shoes."

He reached out and took it. "Thanks."

She unfolded and tossed a couple of towels on the floor. "I put these away in a box and stored them in the laundry room a while ago. You never know when you'll need an old towel to wipe something up."

Chakotay slowly put his shoes away in the bag while he watched Kathryn arrange the towels on the floor. He hadn't taken her appearance in when he came in with the pounding rain and Einstein jumping on him. He had only noted her bathrobe tightly bound about her body. But now, he assumed with the struggle in finding the towels, it had fallen open to reveal a flimsy peach colored nightgown underneath.

"There, that should do it." She paused. "Are you okay?"

Chakotay refocused to notice Kathryn frowning at him. "Sorry, what?"

"You were staring. You looked like you were a hundred miles away."

"Oh." Chakotay cleared his throat. "I'm just tired and cold." He visibly shivered but he knew it wasn't due to the low temperature or wet clothes.

"Why don't you dry off in the bathroom. Or you can shower if you like," Kathryn offered. "I'm sure I can find a dry shirt that will fit you around here somewhere. Bottoms, maybe not so much."

"Kathryn, you don't-."

"Nonsense. I know there's a duffle bag with some of Mark's old clothes. He never took them with him and I've been meaning to drop them off at Goodwill. Let me look for it and see if there's something that will fit you since he's smaller than you. That's if you don't mind?"

"No, I don't mind. Anything is better than this," he said, as he tried to unstick the wet shirt that clung to his body.

"I agree." She grabbed Chakotay's hand and led him through the living room and down the darkened hallway. "Geez, your hand is freezing. How did you get so wet?"

Her hand felt small but very warm in his and he was visibly disappointed when she let go. "It's a long story."

"Well, the bathroom is right here," she pointed toward the closed door. "You can use the blue towel on the hook. And I'll bring you whatever clothes I find."

Chakotay meekly smiled, "Sounds great." Before Kathryn could walk away Chakotay reached out and took hold of her hand once again and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Thank you, Kathryn. I really appreciate your help."

She smiled in return and patted his hand. "Glad to do it."

/\/\

Kathryn walked into her bedroom at the end of the hall and leaned against her dresser to catch her breath. She heard Chakotay walk into the bathroom and close the door behind him. A few moments later she heard the shower. She quickly took off her robe to try to cool off a bit. She had felt fine all evening sitting by the fireplace, but a couple of seconds of physical contact with Chakotay had her flushed.

She paced around her bedroom, momentarily forgetting why she had walked in there in the first place. "The clothes," she muttered to herself. That's when she remembered she had tossed the duffle bag in the guest bedroom's closet to get it out of the way.

She slid her robe back on and carefully tiptoed down the hall to the guest room. She wasn't sure why she was tiptoeing about in her own home, when she could clearly hear the water still running in the bathroom. She walked into the guest room, turned on the nightstand lamp and opened the closet door.

The guest bedroom closet had become a larger form of a junk drawer. Anything that didn't fit anywhere else in the house, and didn't make it to the garage, ended up in there. She really needed to make the time to clean it out one of these days. She looked about the closet, remembering throwing the bag in but never noticing where it landed, until spotted it upside down in the corner right beside her tennis rackets.

She pulled the bag out and tossed it onto the bed. It had been several months since she had packed it up and wasn't sure what was inside anymore. She unzipped it and spread its contents out over the duvet. As she looked through the clothes she heard the shower shut off.

There were several tees, a pair of sweats, pajama bottoms, and various other knickknacks that were of no use to her right now. She looked through the labels of the shirts and wondered if any would fit Chakotay.

"Chakotay," she yelled, "What size shirt do you wear?"

The door unlocked. "What?"

"What size shirt do you wear?"

"Oh. Um, extra large. Depends on the shirt really."

"These are mostly medium and large."

"I'm sure one of the large will be fine."

She gathered both bottoms, the shirts, and headed toward the bathroom. As she got closer she realized Chakotay had left the door ajar. She knew she should announce herself, but for whatever reason, she didn't.

She could see movement inside the bathroom when she caught an actual glimpse of him. He had tied the towel around him which hung low on his hips. Kathryn knew he was fit but never imagined how define his biceps and back muscles were. She stood quietly outside in the hallway when the door swung open.

"Hey." Chakotay smiled.

Kathryn startled. "Hi," she quickly responded. "I-uh, found these things." She shoved the clothes in front of her for him to take. "Hope something fits."

"I'm sure something will," he said as he looked through the clothes. "Thank you."

Kathryn took a couple steps back but couldn't help herself from staring at his upper body. She was tempted to run her fingers down his chest and across his abs. It was ridiculous how immature she was acting but she couldn't help herself. At least a mystery had been solved- she now knew how his arm tattoo looked like.

She was aware that she had been gazing at him for a while and needed an escape. "Um, how about some coffee? Or tea?"

"Whatever you like is fine. I could really use something."

"Okay. Well, I'm going to gather up the rest of the clothes in the room and then I'll meet you in the kitchen."

Chakotay nodded and closed the door.

Kathryn felt rattled as she let out a breath. She absolutely hated how easily she became agitated around him. She walked back into the room, gathered the remaining clothes and shoved them into the bag.

"Kathryn?"

She was about to place the bag in the closet again when she stopped. "Yeah?"

"Have you seen the movie _Big_?"

Kathryn frowned at the non sequitur. "The one with Tom Hanks?"

"Yup."

"I have."

"You know that scene after he makes the wish and wakes up as an adult and tries to put on his old kid clothes?"

"…Yeah."

"That's how I feel right now."

Kathryn had to hold her side from the laughter. "It can't be that bad," she said after she gained control of her giggles.

Chakotay stepped into the room. "I don't know. What do you think?"

Kathryn covered her mouth as she stifled her laugh. She wasn't sure if she enjoyed the stretched out 'I Went to Alcatraz and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt,' which was definitely a size too small, or the slightly too tight sweats that only made it half way down his calves.

"It's…not so…bad," she managed as she tried to keep a straight face.

Chakotay wiggled his body. "It's an interesting feeling, that's for sure. But it definitely beats wet clothes."

"See, a silver lining."

Chakotay laughed. "I'll help you with the coffee if you're done in here."

"I am. And that sounds great."

Kathryn turned off the lamp and led the way down the hallway into the living room. Amelia and Einstein had settled down once again and were gently snoring by the warmth of the fireplace. They were almost to the kitchen when a sudden flash of light filled the room quickly trailed by the loud rumble of thunder.

"I hate thunderstorms," Kathryn said when she stopped dead in her tracks. She glanced over at the dogs then at Chakotay who was standing right behind her. "They went crazy last night with the thunder. It didn't last long but they wouldn't stop barking. I guess it's not bothering them tonight?"

Chakotay looked over at the dogs. "Doesn't seem to. They look so comfortable."

"No kidding." Kathryn continued into the kitchen and turned on the light. "I envy them sometimes, no troubles or responsibilities. Their biggest worry is when they'll get their next treat."

There was another flash this time followed by an even louder clap of thunder. The rain had intensified to the point where it was hard to hear anything else in the house.

"I don't think I've seen it rain this much in a years," Chakotay observed when he peeked out the window.

"Me too. I don't mind the rain so much; it's the thunder and lightning I'm not a fan of." Kathryn pulled out a bag of coffee from the cabinet and lifted the lid of the coffee maker. "When I was six years old, there was a huge thunderstorm while I was at my grandfather's farm in Indiana. I watched a lightning bolt split a tree. It terrified me. And to think I had been climbing it a few hours before."

Chakotay leaned against the counter near Kathryn. "I didn't know you were from Indiana?"

"Yeah. I moved out to California for college and never made it back."

"Well, I'm glad you stayed."

Kathryn smirked. "Can you hand me two mugs from that cabinet over there?"

Chakotay pulled out the mugs and set them down when he noticed the empty wine bottles on the counter. "Busy partying this weekend?"

Kathryn looked over to see what he was referring to and chuckled. "That was Phoebe. Well, I helped a little. And to be fair, two bottles were already open. I meant to toss them out earlier but forgot."

"That's right you mentioned you were having dinner with her last night. How did that go?"

"It was…fun." Kathryn didn't feel like going into details of her forgotten personal issues and swiftly changed the subject. "She made caramel brownies after we got home. They're in that plate covered in foil if you want some."

"Yeah, that sounds great. I haven't eaten since lunch today."

"Oh, Chakotay. I have food in the fridge. It's nothing fancy but I'm sure we can whip something up."

"No, no. The brownies are fine."

Kathryn rolled her eyes and opened the fridge door. "Just stop. Get over here and let's see what you can eat."

"Yes, ma'am," Chakotay chuckled.

Kathryn leaned in and moved things around. "I had Indian for lunch but it had chicken so that's a no-go. I doubt you just want rice. I have some goat cheese." She pulled out the package and grimaced then put it back. "Nevermind, it's moldy."

Chakotay laughed. "Did you just put the moldy cheese back?"

Kathryn stopped scavenging and poked her head out. "I did, didn't I?"

She was about to hand Chakotay the moldy cheese to throw away when another burst of light lit up the rest of the darkened house. However, the thunder that followed was intermixed with a loud electrical buzz which soon left them in a pitch-black room.

"Seriously?!" Kathryn muttered as she closed the refrigerator door. "The coffee wasn't even finished brewing!"

Chakotay muffled his laugh as he tried to maneuver his way in the darkness. "Do you have a flashlight?"

"I do. It's under the sink. But let me get it since I know where it's at."

Kathryn moved cautiously toward the sink trying very hard not to run into Chakotay. She assumed he was still standing where he had been when the power went out. With all the clouds and rain, the moonlight wasn't providing any illumination. At least her eyes were adjusting to the blackness and she was able to vaguely make out the silhouettes of objects around her.

She quickly found the flashlight and turned it on. When she moved the beam around the kitchen, Chakotay was nowhere to be found. She took a couple of steps before she shouted, "Chakotay?"

"Sorry, I'm in the living room. I wanted to check on the dogs. Nothing has fazed them tonight it appears."

Kathryn walked toward the living room and found Chakotay kneeling by both dogs. She turned off the flashlight and set it down on the nearest table.

"I'm sorry about the food, Chakotay. I guess brownies it will be."

"Actually I noticed you had some cheddar in the fridge. Do you have bread?"

"I do."

"I can make us some grilled cheese. That's if your cheddar and bread aren't moldy."

Kathryn couldn't help rolling her eyes. "For someone who is wearing very tiny clothes you are quite cheeky."

"Tiny clothes give me courage." Chakotay stood up and picked up the flashlight as he walked past Kathryn. "I'm going to make a grilled cheese that's going to knock your socks off."

"Well, it shouldn't be too hard since I'm not wearing any socks."

Chakotay laughed. "Just get in here and help me find the bread."

"Only if you say pretty please."

"Kathryn, will you get in here and help me find the bread… _pretty please_."

"Much better." She smiled and carefully made her way back into the kitchen.

/\/\

Kathryn popped the last bite of her sandwich in her mouth and set the plate down on the ottoman. She looked over at Chakotay who sat a few feet away from her on the L-shaped couch. "That was one mighty delicious grilled cheese."

Chakotay smiled and placed his plate on top of hers. "I'm glad you liked it."

"They came out so well considering you only had a flashlight to see."

"Correction, a flashlight _and_ a very berry scented candle."

"How could I forget the poor candle? I don't want to make it feel left out." Kathryn pulled the afghan from the back of the couch and draped it over her legs.

"I can put another log on the fire if you're getting cold."

Kathryn adjusted the pillows on the armrest and lay down on the couch instead. "No, it's okay. I'll warm up right now. There's another blanket on that chair over there if you're cold or I can get another one from the linen closet if it's not enough."

"I feel fine. I tend to run warm." Chakotay rubbed his hands on his thighs and stood up. "You know, I should get going?

"You're joking, right?"

"Well…no."

Kathryn lifted her head from the pillows. "Chakotay, there's no power. Who knows how extensive the power outage is and it's raining pretty heavily still. Those are not good conditions to drive in, especially in the dark."

"I know. You just look tired and should go to sleep. I'm keeping you up."

Kathryn rolled her eyes. "Just sit back down and be quiet."

"Geez, you're so bossy," Chakotay teased as he took a seat. "Is it because you only had a drop of coffee with your meal or that you're tired?"

Kathryn laughed as she pulled her blanket up to her chin. She contemplated the question for a moment. "Both?"

They sat in peaceful silence a while staring at the flames in the fireplace. Kathryn couldn't help but notice how the light reflected on Chakotay's skin, making his skin appear almost golden. He looked ridiculous in the tight shirt but she was somewhat glad she was here to witness it.

"You never told me about your trip," she said while she rolled over to her side.

"Ugh, that trip. What an utter disaster." Chakotay stretched out his legs and rested his feet on the ottoman in front of him.

"That bad?"

"The worst. First of all, and I'm not sure how this happened, I overslept. I set my alarm but it never went off. I packed the night before but needed to get a few things in the morning. Of course I forgot all of them with the rush."

"Oh, so that's why you were so frazzled when you dropped off Einstein."

"That's part of it. It was just a bad week overall, really." Chakotay paused. "Mike and I were meeting at my coworkers place and carpooling from there, but since I was late it took us about twice as long to get there and-"

"Where did you go?"

"Big Bear."

Kathryn quietly mouthed "Oh."

"The rest of Saturday went well: We pitched our tents, had a couple beers, played poker- you know, having a good time."

Kathryn nodded as she tried to repress a yawn.

"Around eleven at night, it started to drizzle, no big deal really, but we decided to call it a night. I fell asleep almost instantly. I was having the best sleep when a couple hours later I woke up to a flooded tent."

"Oh no! That's horrible."

"Tell me about it. Most of my clothes got soaked too. I woke the guys up and we decided to pack up. While we were doing so, park rangers drove by and told us we needed to evacuate immediately because of possible flash floods."

"So what happened next?"

"It gets better." Chakotay sneered. "We drove into the city thinking we could get a cabin or a hotel room. Nope, everything was booked solid because of Memorial Day weekend. We decided to get some breakfast and figured we would try to wait out the storm."

"I'm guessing that didn't work?"

"No, it did not. The storm intensified. We ended up driving back around four or five. I don't even remember now. And of course no one knows how to drive in the rain so traffic was extra congested because of all the accidents. And to top it off, we got a flat tire. That's why I was soaked when I got here."

Kathryn managed not to laugh at his misfortune. "I'm sorry, Chakotay. You looked so excited to get away the other day."

"I was. I guess everything happens for a reason. At least that's what I've been telling myself to feel better."

Kathryn yawned again. "I remember when I was a kid, my parents would always take us camping or on these backpacking trips. I absolutely hated it!"

Chakotay chuckled. "How come?"

"I don't know." Kathryn shrugged as she yawned again. "I guess no luxuries. Who wants to sleep on the hard ground when you can be sleeping in a comfy bed?"

"I guess so. But you can learn so much from nature."

"I know," she quietly responded as her eyes unwillingly closed. "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate nature, I just don't want to be in it for long periods of time."

"Kathryn, just go to sleep," Chakotay whispered.

"I'm awake." She forced her eyes open again.

Chakotay let out an exasperated sigh. "You are one stubborn individual."

"I am not." Kathryn barely finished her sentence before she fell asleep.

/\/\

Kathryn felt her body trembling but didn't want to get out of bed and look for another blanket. She was trying to make herself comfortable again, in order to fall back asleep, when she noticed she wasn't in her bed. She cracked open an eye and realized she had fallen asleep on the couch. That's when everything from the night before came flooding back to her mind. Her eyes shot open and she swiftly looked toward the couch where she remembered Chakotay sitting, but it was too dark to determine if he was still there.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up. She gave herself a moment for her vision to familiarize itself with the darkness. The fire had gone out in the fireplace, or Chakotay had put it out, she didn't know, and only a few embers were visible from where she sat.

She blinked a couple of times and quietly stood up. Her eyes had adjusted enough to notice Chakotay still sitting on the couch in the same spot she last remembered him, except now his neck hung awkwardly to the side and his arms were crossed against his chest.

Part of her wanted to wake him up but the other part wanted to move his neck from its current position. Or maybe she should just leave him alone. She hovered around him debating what to do and eventually decided to buy herself some time by changing clothes. Even with her robe on, she was still cold.

She gingerly walked out of the living into the hallway. She tested the light switch but the power was still out. She touched her way toward her bedroom and ultimately found the drawer with her pajamas.

She shrugged out of her robe and peeled off her night gown and threw both onto the bed. She smiled to herself at the thought of a desirable man being only several feet away while she practically stood naked in her room. It was a harmless thought but one that exhilarated her. She searched her drawer and finally found the bottoms and long sleeve shirt she had been looking for.

Once dressed, she ambled down the hallway, stopping at the linen closet to pull out a blanket, then cautiously maneuvered her way to the living room. Chakotay still hadn't moved except now he was gently snoring.

Kathryn momentarily hesitated until she shook his shoulder. "Chakotay, wake up," she whispered.

He made low grumbling sound as he smacked his lips together a couple of times. "Sorry, babe, was I snoring?" He slowly opened his eyes and surveyed his dark surroundings. "Where am I?"

"You fell asleep on my couch, Chakotay." The thought of him calling her 'babe' resonated through her mind.

"Kathryn?" He groggily asked.

"Yeah."

"Sorry…I forgot." He rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?"

"I'm not sure but it's late."

He looked around the room. "Sounds like the rain stopped."

"It did."

"Do you mind if I stay the rest of the night? I'm too tired to drive home right now."

"Of course I don't mind. I would fight you if you wanted to leave."

"Am I your hostage?" He managed a sleepy chuckle.

Kathryn smiled. "Yup. You can't leave until I say so."

"Okay, sounds fine by me."

"Here," she draped the blanket over him, "you looked chilly. And you might want to get comfortable. Your neck was at an off angle."

"So that's why it hurts." He rubbed his neck while he laid his body on the couch, shoving a couple throw pillows under his head.

Kathryn wavered for a second. She knew she should probably go back to her room and sleep in there but there was something comforting about sharing the room with someone else. It's not like she needed companionship all the time, but on occasion it was nice to have.

"Okay, well good night."

She walked back to the couch and made herself comfortable again while Chakotay's snores quickly filled the silence. She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep but sleep evaded her. She couldn't quite pinpoint what was keeping her awake – his snores, the conversation she had with Phoebe last night, or the little word Chakotay had uttered that reminded her he wasn't a single man.

She was certain it was the last point. She settled on her back and stared at the ceiling. It was definitely going to be a long night.

/\/\

Chakotay carefully closed the kitchen cupboard having no luck in finding the coffee. He remembered seeing Kathryn with a bag last night but didn't pay close enough attention to where she pulled it from. He moved over to the next cabinet and slowly opened it trying to make the least amount of noise in order not to wake her.

Chakotay knew he had hit the jackpot when he was overwhelmed by the smell of coffee. His mouth unintentionally fell open when he saw the copious amounts of coffee bags and K-Cups stacked up on the second shelf. "How much coffee does one person need?" He muttered to himself.

"Plenty."

Chakotay jumped and spun around to find Kathryn standing by the kitchen island. "Hi," he meekly said.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I woke up and thought you had left."

"I wouldn't leave without saying good-bye, especially after you've been such a wonderful host."

Kathryn shrugged as she tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes. "I see you're back in your clothes."

Chakotay chuckled. "Yeah, I changed once I woke up. They're still a little damp but it's not too bad."

Kathryn nodded. "Do you want me to make the coffee?"

"No, it's okay. I got it. I just couldn't find it at first." Chakotay opened up the bag and scooped the coffee into the machine. "I wanted to have it ready before you woke up."

Kathryn weakly smiled and opened the fridge door. "Do you want some breakfast? I can make some scrambled eggs with toast."

"Sure, that sounds good. Coffee should be ready soon."

Kathryn yawned. "Good because I need it. I'm glad the power is back on."

Chakotay observed Kathryn and smiled. "Are you always this sleepy in the morning?"

"Not really," she said as she cracked a couple of eggs into a bowl, "I just woke up a lot last night."

Chakotay's shoulders sagged. "It was my snoring, wasn't it?"

Kathryn busied herself with the food prep and ignored his question.

"Kathryn?"

"Will you believe me if I say no?" She quickly glanced at him as she turned on the burner.

Chakotay cringed. "I'm sorry. I do that sometimes. Mostly when I sleep in unfamiliar places."

"It's just been a while since I had to deal with snoring."

"I'm sorry."

She brushed him off. "It's fine. Coffee will give me the boost I need."

"Um, Kathryn…" Chakotay pointed at the eggs in the pan that were starting to turn a light brown color.

"Rats! I always do that!" Kathryn quickly moved the eggs around the pan. "You'd think I could get scrambled eggs right."

"They look fine." Chakotay passed behind her and gave her arms a gentle squeeze. "I'll get the toast going."

"You don't trust me with the toast, do you?"

"Not in the least."

/\/\

Breakfast was uneventful and surprisingly edible. Kathryn wasn't as animated and talkative as she normally was. And she was definitely acting differently from last night. Chakotay wasn't sure if she was just not a morning person or was simply tired or if there was some other underlying cause to her change. She seemed a bit more distant as well, as though something was preoccupying her mind. Maybe he had simply overstayed his welcome, he thought.

He had offered to wash the dishes while Kathryn let the dogs out in the backyard. He was almost done rinsing the last plate when he heard the pitter-patter of nails hitting the hardwood floor. Both dogs rush into the kitchen soon followed by Kathryn. They ran over to the counter and patiently sat down while Kathryn retrieved a treat from the cupboard. Once each dog had their reward, they both ran into the living room.

Chakotay dried his hand with a kitchen towel and set it on the counter. "I hope he wasn't too much trouble."

"No, he was fine." Kathryn picked up her coffee mug and served herself more coffee. "I'm glad Amelia had someone to play with."

"Yeah." He paused. "Well, I'm going to get going."

"I'm not kicking you out, Chakotay."

He chuckled. "I know, but I should really go home. "

"Okay," Kathryn whispered from across the kitchen. "Let me get Einstein's leash."

Once Chakotay had harnessed the puppy, he slowly wandered to the entryway and was met by Kathryn at the front door.

"You changed." For whatever reason, Chakotay felt he needed to lighten her mood, but soon realized Kathryn looked confused. "Your clothes. I mean, from last night. You put on pants."

Kathryn looked down at her pajamas as to confirm what she was wearing. "I was cold."

"I really do appreciate everything you've done. And I don't mean just offering to dog sit."

"It really isn't a big deal, Chakotay."

"No, but seriously, not many people are that willing to help, especially when they haven't known someone for so long."

Kathryn shrugged. "I guess."

Chakotay took a step forward and brushed an errant strand of hair behind her ear and lowly said, "You really are a great person. I admire that about you."

Kathryn looked down, embarrassed but quickly looked up and genuinely smiled. "You're pretty great yourself."

Chakotay didn't know why he had such an urge to be close to her. They had such chemistry that he felt drawn to her at every moment.

He was simply going to give her arm a gentle squeeze and leave, but he felt himself going further until they were fully embraced. He thought of quickly releasing her, in an attempt not to cross the boundaries of their friendship, but hesitated when he felt Kathryn's hands tightly grasping the back of his shirt. He moved his arms tighter around her body and in the shift, he realized his hands were now in direct contact with the small of her back. It felt warm and smooth against his skin and the temptation to slide them lower was ever so great.

He felt her letting go and he slightly pulled away. She placed her hands on his chest while she rested her forehead against it. It was hard to know exactly what was going through her mind based on the events of this morning. Maybe she just felt lonely or maybe she solely needed a hug.

He leaned down and gently placed a kiss on her cheek. His lips lingered long enough that with a couple of movements, he soon felt her lips against his.

Her lips felt supple, inviting, and warm, but the kiss itself was gentle, almost chaste. It was as if they had some mutual understanding that if the kiss intensified in any manner, their so-called friendship would traverse those boundaries.

Kathryn pulled back without looking at him and whispered, "We can't."

Chakotay closed his eyes and removed his hands from her back. "I know," he said in an equally low voice. "I really should go now."

Kathryn nodded but didn't look up.

Chakotay grabbed Einstein's leash and was ready to head out the door but stopped. That's not how he wanted to leave things with Kathryn. He quickly turned around and gently lifted Kathryn's chin with his hand.

"Just give me a little bit of time. Just a little. I promise you, this will be right soon enough." He placed another gentle kiss on her cheek and walked out the door.

[TBC]


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: This chapter contains adult language. :p Also, this update wasn't supposed to take THIS long. Sorry.

* * *

 _The most effective way to do it is to do it._ –Amelia Earhart

* * *

His lips.

From the first moment she saw him at the shelter she had been mesmerized by his mouth. She wasn't sure if it was the shape or the fullness, but she always felt her eyes drawn to it. During their lengthy conversations she had to almost force herself to maintain eye contact and not let her vision wander downward, which wasn't always a success. And now, after feeling his lips against hers, she knew there had been a reason for the peculiar attraction.

The taste of sweetened coffee lingered on Kathryn's lips as she lightly ran the tips of her fingers over her mouth. For a mere moment she allowed the elation to wash over her body before her mind would inevitably analyze and reanalyze every second from the past few minutes and come to the conclusion that everything was a giant mistake.

She stood in place as she heard a car door slam, an engine start and the crunch of tires on the wet asphalt. She didn't know what else to do other than to lock the front door and wander to the living room. She poked her head out the window knowing he was long gone, but for whatever reason, she just needed to make sure.

As Kathryn retreated, she caught a glimpse of the house across the street. Had Annika seen Chakotay leave this morning? Had she noticed his car parked in front of her house all night? Had anyone else? But more importantly, had anyone worried about Chakotay? Kathryn's mind quickly thought of his girlfriend and guilt started to rear its ugly head.

Coffee, Kathryn needed coffee. She sauntered into the kitchen to retrieve her forgotten mug from earlier but to her dismay the liquid had gone cold. And to make matters worse, the carafe sat empty in the coffee maker.

As she prepared more coffee by rote, her mind wandered while the guilt intensified. One question begat another which led to another and left her with many questions she didn't have answers to. Her students would surely be embarrassed by her lack of solutions. But these matters weren't easily calculated with concrete resolutions, no, they were convoluted and open ended.

The coffee slowly started to brew and Kathryn watched closely as the dark liquid filled the glass container. When had she become this person? She always played by the books. She didn't go around inviting men to spend the night or kissing them when they were in relationships. Especially men she barely knew! A tinge of disgust trickled her stomach.

Kathryn grabbed the sparsely filled carafe and hastily served herself whatever she could, sloshing some liquid onto the counter. She walked back into the living room and sat on the edge of the couch, clasping the steaming mug with both hands.

"I can't do this. This isn't right," she mumbled to herself in between sips. "I need to stop because this isn't me."

Kathryn leaned back on the couch and covered herself with the discarded blanket from last night. She thought of calling Chakotay and putting an end to it all. But was there really much to end? It's not like they were dating. She could simply switch training class, not answers his calls or texts and simply forget the man. That would practically solve all their predicaments. Wouldn't it?

But the thought of cutting all ties with him didn't settle well with her either. She liked him, she couldn't deny that. And she was certain she felt more toward this man she hardly knew even though she wouldn't admit it to herself. They had a connection, a chemistry that was undeniable.

She set her cup on the floor and settled down on the couch. It had been an eventful night with restless sleep and she was tired. And the bombardment of emotions wasn't helping much also.

Kathryn yawned, replaying Chakotay's departing words to her before he left, _Just give me a little bit of time_. Was she willing to give him time? Should she? Or was he the type of guy that strung around women for his convenience. She didn't think so but what did she know. As Kathryn's eyes closed she came to the conclusion that she didn't know him at all. She had only touched the surface of his character, yet she felt she knew him so well.

Kathryn scoffed at the realizations that she was thinking in circles and not accomplishing much by asking herself questions she obviously didn't have answers to. She was emotionally tired and needed rest. Sleep would help her clear her mind and she'd hopefully wake with a better outlook of the situation.

As she drifted off, her hand unconsciously drifted back toward her mouth and she smiled. She was positive she could still feel his lips against hers.

/\/\

"Did you have a good time at Kathryn's house?" Chakotay asked, reaching over to the passenger seat and rubbing Einstein's head. "I hope you did." Einstein acknowledged his question with a low woof. "I'm going to take that as a yes. She's nice, huh?" Chakotay sighed. "And smart and gorgeous…"

Chakotay was trying not to think about what happened at Kathryn's house just before he left and having a conversation with the puppy was somewhat helping. It's not that he didn't want to think about it, because he did, he just felt an immense feeling of remorse when he allowed himself to. Not so much by the kiss itself, since it was practically the most innocent kiss every recorded by mankind, but everything that came attached to it. That's not how he wanted things to progress with her, especially when he hadn't resolved matters with Seska. It wasn't fair to either of them.

"I need to end it with Seska." He muttered to himself and paused. "I sound like a broken record." He looked over at the puppy sitting next to him, "Don't I?" The puppy merely stared at him with a puzzled look and his head cocked to the side. "What do you think I should do, boy? Tell me. Should I end it the moment Seska gets home or should I pack up and move out before she does and then call her." He looked over at the dog who merely stared at him. "You're right, I can't do that. That's a cowardly thing to do." He paused as he continued to drive. "Or maybe I should give it a couple of days? See how everything goes." Chakotay heard a low growl coming from his passenger. "Okay, okay, I won't do that and I won't bother you with my problems anymore, geez. We'll be home soon."

/\/\

As soon as Chakotay opened the front door he was hit by the aroma of coffee and food. For a second he thought he may have left the coffee maker on when he left but the smell wouldn't be so strong two days later. And the smell of food?

He set his things down by the door, removed the puppy's leash, and walked further into the house and found Seska making herself lunch in the kitchen.

"Hey, I didn't know you were home. I didn't see your car in the driveway."

"Where were you?" She coldly asked without looking up from the stove.

Chakotay was taken aback. "Well, hello to you, too."

"Hello." She quickly glanced at him. "My car is in the garage. So, where were you?"

Chakotay walked into the kitchen and set his keys down on the counter. "I told you, I was going camping with Mike and Tom. Mind if I get some coffee?"

"Do whatever you like." She paused and continued in a lower voice. "It seems you already do."

Chakotay stopped midway from retrieving his mug from the cupboard and turned around, slightly annoyed by her tone. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

Chakotay sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I'm not going to play your passive-aggressive mind games. If there's something bothering you, just spit it out."

"Fine." Seska set the spoon down and folded her arms across her chest. "I came home last night and you weren't here, which I didn't think much of since you said you were going away for the weekend. Around, oh I don't know, I think eleven, I get a text from Tom asking if you had gotten home all right. He was concerned since he tried calling and texting you but your phone appeared dead. So…?"

"So, what?"

"Where were you all this time?"

"Oh, that." Chakotay busied himself by serving some coffee. "I, um, went to Sekaya's."

"Of course you did." Seska smiled, appearing satisfied by his answer. "That's exactly where I thought you went." She picked up the wooden spoon and stirred the contents of the small pot.

"I didn't know Tom had your number?" Chakotay asked hoping to move the line of questioning away from whereabouts.

"He didn't. He asked his father for it. Remember, Owen is now a client of the firm."

"Oh, that's right."

"So how's your sister?"

"She's fine," Chakotay quickly answered.

"Oh, that's funny. She didn't sound fine to me when I talked to her last night," Seska casually added with a smile.

Chakotay choked on his coffee. "Let me explain-"

Ignoring him, Seska went on. "In order to alleviate my worry, I decided to give her a call. I assumed you would be there but just wanted to make sure you were fine." She set her spoon down and took a couple steps toward Chakotay, still smiling. "And you know what I found out?"

"Seska, I can ex-"

"I found out you were not there either!" She sarcastically added, smacking her hands together. "So by then I'm pretty worried, you know. My mind is going warp speed, thinking you had an accident and were probably lying in a ditch somewhere, badly hurt. I start checking online for accidents that match your car. Then I think of calling the police, but of course they won't do anything after twenty-four hours of someone missing. And then it dawns on me-"

"Seska, I tried explaining last week but-"

She scowled. "Who is she?"

"It's not what you think."

"Bullshit!"

"You of all people should not make me feel guilty for this." Chakotay closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to control his ever rising anger. "I've been trying to reach you for days, Seska. _Days!_ Do you know how that feels like? I had to find out from your assistant that you took off. You couldn't even answer one of my damned texts!"

Seska rolled her eyes and returned her attention to her food. "That's different."

"How the fuck is that different?!" Chakotay yelled, losing all control of his temper.

"Don't yell at me." She hissed. "The neighbors are going to hear."

"I don't give a rat's ass who hears this! And I'm sure the neighbors are already used to your yelling anyway. Why it is when you do something, it's fine, but when I do it, it's petty or childish. Huh? Are you some sort of fuckin' royalty, Seska?"

"Fine, you want to do it this way, all right." She slammed her spoon down on the stove and turned off the burner. "So did you fuck her, huh? Is that what you were up to?"

"Oh, don't you dare accuse of me of cheating on you!"

"Well, why not? I mean, you're obviously hiding something since you're pulling lies out of your ass."

"That's rich! Especially coming from you of all people."

Seska slammed her palm against the kitchen counter. "Don't you dare bring that up! We put that behind us years ago."

"You may have put it behind you but I haven't forgotten!" Chakotay spat. "All it's made me realize lately is that I'm a damn fool! I felt pity for you and I forgave you."

"We're not talking about this! You're not bringing this up!" Seska tried walking out of the kitchen but Chakotay grasped her forearm and stopped her.

"Right, because when you mess up we don't talk about it. Well you know what? I did spend the night at Kathryn's, that's her name by the way, but I'm sure you already knew that when you read my texts."

"Cheating bastard!"

Chakotay shook his head. "No, I didn't sleep with her. I slept on the couch. I did kiss her, though. I'll admit that. I know I shouldn't have and that's where I messed up."

"You son of a bitch! How dare you do that? After all these years with been together-"

"Stop it, Seska! _Just stop_!"

"Don't you-"

"You cheated on me for months! _Months!_ Right under my nose! Then you left me and only came back when you found out you were pregnant and he wouldn't leave his wife. And being-"

"You said you forgave me!" A few tears streamed down Seska's face.

Chakotay let out a deep breath. "I may have said it and I think I convinced myself to believe it but I never forgave you. I'm just a fucking idiot that was willing to put it all behind us and raise someone else's child." He paused. "I wasn't doing it for you; I was doing it for the baby. I just felt sorry for you. That's all I felt."

"Get out! Get the fuck out of my house, now! And take your stupid dog with you too!"

"Gladly!" Chakotay turned around, yelling over his shoulder, "I hope you find another stupid bastard to put up with your bullshit for this long." As he exited the kitchen he noticed the front door ajar and quickly realized he hadn't heard or seen Einstein since they had walked in the house.

"Einstein!" He frantically searched the first floor, checking the dog's usual hiding spots but he was nowhere to be found. "Fuck!"

"What's happening?" Seska walked out of the kitchen, wiping the tears from her face.

"I can't find him! I left the door open and I can't find him!"

Chakotay ran outside and yelled, "Einstein!" He looked around the front yard then jogged toward the sidewalk and looked in both directions. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and a loud thumping in his head. "Einstein!" He desperately yelled again, but it was no use, Einstein was nowhere in sight.

[TBC]


	15. Chapter 15

"Chakotay?"

"Yeah," he yelled from across the street.

"Did you make these?" Sekaya flipped through the handful of flyers again before taping one up to the light pole.

"Why do you ask that?" Chakotay frowned.

Knowing very well the conversation wasn't close to being over he decided to join Sekaya instead of having a shouting match from across the street.

"I don't know, they just look…nice."

Chakotay managed a chuckle. "Are you saying I can't create nice things?"

"Well, not that." They walked down the sidewalk toward the nearest post and attached another sign. "You just tend to remind me of a Windows 95 Paint type of guy that would probably write 'Lost Dog' and forget pivotal details like a phone number. And these are clearly the latest version of Photoshop. I mean, these are nicer than some wedding invitations I've seen.

"I'm going to take that as a compliment. Glad you like my work."

Sekaya scrutinized Chakotay but didn't say anything else even though it was evident she didn't believe him. They walked in silence as they looked for another surface to tape a sign to.

"Okay, I can't take it. Who made them?" Sekaya finally said after a few minutes of walking.

Chakotay weakly smiled. "An intern at work offered to design the flyer and I had them printed at Kinko's this morning."

Sekaya let out an exaggerated breath. "Good, I'll be able to sleep tonight. I couldn't take not knowing the truth."

Chakotay laughed. "You are one strange person."

"I know. And that's why you love me." She smiled at him and gently squeezed his arm.

"No, I love you because you feed me."

"Ouch. No more food for you from now on." She paused. "I'm glad to see you laugh again, even if it is over my stupidity."

"You're not stupid."

"Eccentric?"

"Yeah, let's go with that," Chakotay said, stapling a sign to the trunk of a blooming Jacaranda. "I'm thinking we can walk over to the Fremont Street and ask some of the businesses if they'll let us put up signs on their store fronts. Won't hurt, right?"

"Sounds great. Plus I can get something to drink. It's so hot out today."

"It is. Such a contrast from the rainy weekend."

"Yeah." Sekaya hesitated, eyeing Chakotay as if trying to choose her next words carefully. "So…"

"Uh-huh."

"Are you going to ever tell me what happened on Monday? Like it's now Wednesday and all I know is that you left the door open and Einstein got away."

"I was waiting for you to ask. Just wanted to see how long it would take."

"You suck." Sekaya playfully smacked his arm. "And where the heck were you Sunday?"

Chakotay rolled his eyes. "I never thought that as an adult I would get in trouble for not telling people where I'm at."

"It's not that really," Sekaya sighed, "you just tend to not disappear without telling anyone. To be honest, I was a tad more surprised that I got a call from Cruella de Vil."

"Well, you shouldn't worry about getting calls from her anymore," Chakotay continued to talk as he walked off, "or see her for that matter."

"Wait, what?!" Sekaya made a quick walk-jog movement to catch up to him. "What does that mean?"

"Can you hold the sign while I tape it up?" He mumbled, ripping a piece of tape with his teeth.

Sekaya held the flyer while she repeated, "What does that mean?"

Chakotay sighed. "It means we broke up."

"What?! When?!" She practically shouted.

"Lower your voice." Chakotay scowled. "On Monday. It's not a big deal."

Sekaya's mouth dropped open and took her a moment to recover. "What do you mean it's not a big deal? Of course it is!"

"No, it isn't. It should have happened a long time ago."

"I guess, but…wait, you said Monday? Isn't that when Einstein ran-."

"The shouting scared him off and it didn't help that I didn't properly close the door."

"Oh, Chakotay, what a terrible day.

"It was. Einstein running away was the worst part, to be honest. I spent hours driving around looking for him. I called the shelter but of course they were closed because of the holiday. At least Seska left and I was able to spend the night at the house in case he returned." He paused then added, "And to pack my things."

Sekaya stopped midstep. "Wait, where have you been staying?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

"Um, Chakotay, it's kind of hard not to when you give my Cliff's Notes version of things."

"With Tom and B'Elanna. They have an extra room in their apartment."

"Oh," Sekaya said, slightly hurt. "Why didn't you ask me? You know you can always stay with us."

"I know, but Tom offered. He felt somewhat bad that he got this all started. I assured him it wasn't his fault but my own. I think he still feels guilty though. And I feel guilty that he feels guilty."

Sekaya jokingly rolled her eyes. "Geez, you two. Just get married already."

"Sadly, B'Elanna beat me to it."

They laughed while they walked down the block and turned the corner onto the busy street lined with shops and restaurants. Many of the outdoor cafes were starting to fill up with people ready for the early dinner hour.

"Well, if you ever get tired of Tom and B'Elanna, or they get tired of you, you can stay with me. Edgar is going to be gone for a couple of weeks."

Chakotay quickly looked over at Sekaya. "Where's he going?"

"His grandma's house."

"Oh."

"He had such a great time this weekend she asked if Edgar could stay with her during some of his summer vacation. Of course I said yes and he was thrilled with the idea. He has one more week of school left so I guess he'll be going sometime after that. We really haven't settled on dates yet."

"Did you tell him about Einstein running away?"

Sekaya shook her head. "No. I'm hoping we find him before I have to."

"Me too," Chakotay sighed.

"I wonder where he went." Sekaya muttered more to herself than Chakotay.

"Who knows. I just hope he's safe. I'm just trying to stay positive."

"Me too." Sekaya patted Chakotay's shoulder in comfort. "He is microchipped, right? And has a collar?" Sekaya glanced at Chakotay.

"Yes to the microchip but his collar didn't have his name tag."

"Why?"

"Because he outgrew the collar he had and I bought him a new one about a week ago and never switch the tag."

Sekaya closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm going to let that go because I know you have a lot on your plate because otherwise…"

"I know, I know. I've been beating myself over it too."

"No luck at the shelters?"

"Nope. I've been calling every day. Tom has been helping with the social media stuff. He says sometimes that works better than these," Chakotay lifted the stack of paper he held in his hand. "I just can't sit around and wait, you know? I have to do something."

"I know, Chakotay. I get it. Why don't we take a quick rest? We've been walking around for over an hour. We can get some iced tea? Or froyo?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

"Tea or yogurt?"

"Oh, uh, tea. Or maybe I'll get some iced coffee."

"Whatever floats your boat, buddy."

"There's a little mom and pop place a couple stores down. I haven't been but I've walked by a few times."

"I'm sure it tastes better than those chain coffee shops that shall remain nameless."

"You and your dislike of corporate things."

"It's not that I don't like them, Chakotay, it's that they don't put the love and care into their products as small business do. That's all."

"I guess you're right."

"I know I am," Sekaya smirked. "Okay, so hurry up because I am parched. My treat."

/\/\

The coffee shop was small and quaint. Chakotay passed the time while Sekaya ordered by perusing the display cases. He glanced over the shelves filled with various types of organic coffees and teas he had never heard of. He continued to browse until he came upon a shelf filled with various sized mugs crafted by local artists. One mug in particular caught his attention.

Chakotay picked up the coffee cup and looked at it closer. It was a deep rich blue color adorned with abstract paintings of the planets. It was beautiful and he immediately thought of the person who would enjoy it immensely.

"Hey," Sekaya came up from behind, "let's get a table. They said they would bring our drinks to us."

"What do you think of this?"

Sekaya looked over at what Chakotay was holding. "Wow, that's really neat. I love the colors."

"Isn't it." Chakotay turned the cup around in his hands.

"You're going to buy it, right? You look like you're one step away from proposing to a cup."

Chakotay rolled his eyes, ignoring her last comment. "I'll be right back, I'm going to pay for this."

"Okay, I'll be by the table near the window."

Chakotay joined Sekaya after a few minutes to find their drinks already on the table. He set his carefully packaged gift on the seat of the empty chair beside him.

"Chakotay, can I ask you something?" Sekaya said in a voice lower than her usual tone.

"Um, sure."

"You were at Kathryn's on Sunday, right? And that gift is for her?"

Chakotay inwardly groaned. "Can I plead the fifth?" He innocently asked.

"I guess you can but you pretty much answered my question with that response."

"I went to Kathryn's to pick up Einstein."

"Oh," Sekaya said, slightly taken aback, "I just assumed-"

"You assumed what?"

"I don't know. Other things?" Sekaya shrugged. "Nurse Ratched called at such a late hour..."

Chakotay chuckled. "Nurse Ratched? That's a new one."

Sekaya smiled. " _One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest_ was on TV last night."

"Ah."

Sekaya fiddled with the straw of her iced tea after she took a sip. "So what time did you get home? You could have let me know you were fine."

Chakotay sighed and lowered his head. "Around eleven in the morning the next day."

Sekaya's eyes widened. "Dude! So you did spend the night?"

"It's not what you think. I slept on the couch."

"But still."

"I had every intention of going home, Seky. I really did. It was just raining so much then the power went out and-"

"The power went out? This sounds like it's straight from those cheesy _telenovelas_ mom used to watch." Sekaya giggled. "Let me guess, then your naked body happened to fall on hers, which also happened to be naked, and now she's pregnant with triplets and one happens to be part alien."

"Yes, that's exactly what happened," Chakotay deadpanned.

"I knew it!"

"I'm glad I'm a source of amusement for you."

"Me too." Sekaya's smile slowly faded. "No, but seriously now, is this why you broke up. I mean you and Seska."

"I know who you were referring to. And it wasn't the sole reason; it just started the ball rolling."

"I'm sorry. But I'm not going to lie, it's about damn time."

"I know."

"And promise me this will be the end of it. If I hear you're back together next week, I'm going to blast you to the moon."

"Oh, really?" Chakotay laughed.

"Really."

"Okay, boss." Chakotay took a drink and set his cup back on the table. "We should probably get going. I want to try to get as many of these signs posted before the sun starts going down."

"Yeah, you're right. Plus I have to pick up Edgar from his friend's house by eight."

They both got up from the table and pushed their chairs in. Chakotay grabbed his gift for Kathryn along with the signs.

"What did Kathryn say when you told her about Einstein." Sekaya asked while she held the door open for Chakotay.

"I haven't told her."

"How come?"

"Because I haven't talked to her."

"At all?"

"No."

"Why?"

Chakotay pursed his lips. "I don't know. I want to but…"

"Wait, something _did_ happen? I know that look of yours."

Chakotay hesitated, unsure of what to say. "We may have kissed."

"You what?! And you claim nothing happened?!"

"Trust me, Seky, it was pretty innocent."

"Innocent or not, it's a pretty bold move, bud. That's not like you."

"It wasn't all me, you know. She was an equal participant, too."

"Yeah, yeah." Sekaya rolled her eyes.

"I know it shouldn't have happened but it did. I don't regret it."

"I guess. So she hasn't contacted you either?"

"Nope."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"I'm sure that doesn't mean anything. She's probably busy. I say you text her and let her know what's up with Einstein. I'm sure she would like to know. I mean the woman did offer to take care of your dog."

Chakotay sighed. "I will, later. Not now."

"Okay. So shall we get to posting?"

"We shall."

[TBC]


End file.
